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Photo: Masashi Taomoto · CC BY 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Kamikawachi Onsen

Tochigi · 上河内温泉

Kamikawachi Onsen is a hot spring town in Tochigi, Japan. The water leaves the ground at 50.1°C, hot. It measures pH 8.9 — mildly alkaline, the slippery kind. Officially the water is classed as chloride spring and sulfate spring. Its sources put out around 400 litres a minute.

Getting there

From Tokyounder 1 h

From Kyoto / Osakaabout 2½ h

CarNot needed

JR PassCovers the train

1. Train to Ujiie Station (JR)
2. Change for Tōbu-Utsunomiya Station — a private line, not covered by the JR Pass
3. Change for Utsunomiya Station
4. A short walk

Fly into Haneda or Narita. Times are rough estimates worked out from station locations, not a timetable — check the exact route on Google Maps.

The water here

Chloride spring 塩化物泉

Salty water. The salt leaves a thin film on the skin, so you stay warm well after leaving the bath.

Sulfate spring 硫酸塩泉

Clear water with a faintly bitter taste. Known for holding heat.

With tattoos

Many public baths still turn away visible tattoos, and the rule is set by each bath, not by the town. The reliable way round it is to bathe privately: a room with its own open-air bath, or an inn with a private bath you can book for yourselves.

More on tattoos and onsen

Where to stay

Opens Rakuten Travel, which lists inns in English. Onsen Guide earns a commission if you book through these links, at no extra cost to you.

Similar water elsewhere

Towns further away with the same kind of water — useful if this one is hard to reach or fully booked.

The numbers

Water temperature

50.1°C

pH

8.9 (mildly alkaline)

Discharge

400 litres a minute

Address in Japanese

栃木県宇都宮市今里町

Figures from the town's Japanese Wikipedia article.

Read more

Japanese Wikipedia

Other towns in Tochigi