Photo: Tzu-hsun, Hsu · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Kawayu Onsen (Hokkaido)

Hokkaido · 川湯温泉

Kawayu Onsen (Hokkaido) is a hot spring town in Hokkaido, Japan. The water leaves the ground at 35–65.5°C, hot. It measures pH 0.8 — strongly acidic, the kind that stings on a cut. Officially the water is classed as bicarbonate spring, sulfate spring, acidic spring and sulfur spring.

Getting there

From Sapporoabout 5½ h

CarNot needed

JR PassCovers the train

Train to Kawayu-Onsen Station (JR)
Local bus

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

Bicarbonate springSulfate springAcidic springSulfur spring

The water here

Bicarbonate spring 炭酸水素塩泉

Smooth, slightly slippery water. Often nicknamed bihada-no-yu, the water for beautiful skin.

Sulfate spring 硫酸塩泉

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

Acidic spring 酸性泉

Strongly acidic, sometimes below pH 2. It stings on cuts and is not for long soaks.

Sulfur spring 硫黄泉

The classic rotten-egg smell and milky white water. It can tarnish silver jewellery, so take it off.

More photographs

From Wikimedia Commons. Tap a photo for the photographer and licence.

Things to see nearby

Atosa NupuriMountain · 3.1 km

Sakura FallsWaterfall · 12.5 km

Places from Wikidata, photographs from Wikimedia Commons. Distances are in a straight line from the town.

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.

Rooms with an open-air bath — Hokkaido Inns with a private bath — Hokkaido