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Bukō Onsen

Saitama · 武甲温泉

Bukō Onsen is a hot spring town in Saitama, Japan. The water leaves the ground at 35°C, comfortably warm. It measures pH 11.1 — strongly alkaline. Officially the water is classed as sulfur spring. 1 inns take visitors here.

Getting there

From Tokyoabout 2 h
CarNot needed
JR PassNot a JR line
  1. Train to Yokoze Station
  2. Walk, about 10 min

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

Sulfur spring

The water here

Sulfur spring 硫黄泉

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

Things to see nearby

Hachigata CastleCastle · 15.7 km
Mount BukōMountain · 4.3 km
Chichibu ShrineShrine · 1.8 km
Akechi-dera TempleTemple · 0.7 km
Hocho-ji TempleTemple · 0.9 km
Nagatoro ValleyGorge · 11.4 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.

More on tattoos and onsen

Where to stay

Onsen inns — Yokoze Town

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.

Hot spring towns nearby

Ryōkami OnsenSaitama · 両神温泉11.6 km west
Simple spring
Naguri OnsenSaitama · 名栗温泉16.3 km southeast
Tamagwa OnsenSaitama · 玉川温泉16.7 km east
Simple spring
Ogawa OnsenSaitama · 小川温泉16.9 km northeast
Simple spring
Tsurunoyu OnsenTokyo · 鶴の湯温泉23.6 km south
Sulfur spring
Iwakura OnsenTokyo · 岩蔵温泉24.9 km southeast
Sulfur spring

Similar water elsewhere

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

Iya OnsenTokushima · 祖谷温泉Also sulfur, similar pH
Sulfur spring
Shinobu OnsenFukushima · 信夫温泉Also sulfur, similar pH
Sulfur spring
Umegashima OnsenShizuoka · 梅ヶ島温泉Also sulfur, similar pH
Sulfur spring
Tsurugatonneru OnsenFukui · 敦賀トンネル温泉Also sulfur, similar pH
Sulfur spring
Osōshi OnsenHokkaido · オソウシ温泉Also sulfur, similar pH
Sulfur spring
Shikibidani OnsenTokushima · 四季美谷温泉Also sulfur, similar pH
Sulfur spring

The numbers

Water temperature
35°C
pH
11.1 (strongly alkaline)
Inns
1
Address in Japanese
埼玉県秩父郡横瀬町

Figures from the town's Japanese Wikipedia article.

Where it is

35.9904, 139.1020 — open the map

Read more

Japanese Wikipedia

Planning a first soak? Read how an onsen stay works, and what to do if you have tattoos.