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Photo: Abasaa · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Echigo Yuzawa Onsen

Niigata · 越後湯沢温泉

Echigo Yuzawa Onsen is a hot spring town in Niigata, Japan. The water leaves the ground at 32–83°C, hot enough that it has to be cooled before anyone can get in. Officially the water is classed as chloride spring and sulfur spring.

Getting there

From Tokyoabout 1½ h
From Kyoto / Osakaabout 3 h
CarNot needed
JR PassCovers the train
  1. Train to Echigo-Yuzawa Station (Shinkansen)
  2. 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.

Chloride springSulfur 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.

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

Gala YuzawaSki area · 3.1 km
Iwappara Ski ResortSki area · 3.2 km
Kiyotsu GorgeGorge · 6 km
Arato CastleCastle · 3.7 km
Mount TanigawaMountain · 15.5 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.

Inns with a private bath — Yuzawa Town

More on tattoos and onsen

Where to stay

Onsen inns — Yuzawa 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

Kaikake OnsenNiigata · 貝掛温泉8.1 km southwest
Chloride spring
Ōsawayama OnsenNiigata · 大沢山温泉9.4 km north
Chloride springBicarbonate spring
Sakasamaki OnsenNiigata · 逆巻温泉13.8 km west
Chloride springSulfate spring
Kiyotsukyō OnsenNiigata · 清津峡温泉13.8 km west
Chloride springSulfur spring
Muikamachi OnsenNiigata · 六日町温泉15.4 km northeast
Chloride spring
Akayu OnsenNiigata · 赤湯温泉15.8 km southwest
Chloride spring

Similar water elsewhere

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

Ginzan OnsenYamagata · 銀山温泉Also sulfur and chloride
Chloride springSulfur spring
Onogawa OnsenYamagata · 小野川温泉Also sulfur and chloride
Chloride springSulfur spring
Yamada OnsenNagano · 山田温泉Also sulfur and chloride
Chloride springSulfur spring
Maruo OnsenKagoshima · 丸尾温泉Also sulfur and chloride
Chloride springSulfur spring
Shikaribetsukohan OnsenHokkaido · 然別湖畔温泉Also sulfur and chloride
Chloride springSulfur spring
Sōtome OnsenTochigi · 早乙女温泉Also sulfur and chloride
Chloride springSulfur spring

The numbers

Water temperature
32–83°C
Address in Japanese
新潟県南魚沼郡湯沢町

Figures from the town's Japanese Wikipedia article.

Where it is

36.9377, 138.8084 — 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.