Kirizumi Onsen is a hot spring town in Gunma, Japan. The water leaves the ground at 38.9°C, comfortably warm. It measures pH 7.6 — mildly alkaline, the slippery kind. Officially the water is classed as chloride spring and sulfate spring. Its sources put out around 300 litres a minute. 1 inns take visitors here with room for about 180 guests. About 8,000 people a year come to bathe.
Getting there
From Kyoto / Osakaabout 2½ h
CarNot needed
JR PassCovers the train
Train to Yokokawa Station (JR)
Many inns send a car to the station — ask when you book
Fly into Kansai (KIX) or Itami. Times are rough estimates worked out from station locations, not a timetable — check the exact route on Google Maps.
Chloride springSulfate spring
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.
More photographs
From Wikimedia Commons. Tap a photo for the photographer and licence.
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.