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Photo: Drph17 · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Shintainai Onsen

Niigata · 新胎内温泉

Shintainai Onsen is a hot spring town in Niigata, Japan. The water leaves the ground at 51.6°C, hot. It measures pH 8.6 — mildly alkaline, the slippery kind. Officially the water is classed as bicarbonate spring and sulfate spring. 1 inns take visitors here.

Getting there

From Tokyoabout 3 h
CarTaxi from the station
JR PassCovers the train
  1. Train to Nakajō Station (JR)
  2. By car or taxi, about 5 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.

Bicarbonate springSulfate 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.

More photographs

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

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 — Niigata

More on tattoos and onsen

Where to stay

Onsen inns — Tainai City

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

Shionoyu OnsenNiigata · 塩の湯温泉Same area
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.

Gaga OnsenMiyagi · 峩々温泉Also sulfate and bicarbonate
Bicarbonate springSulfate spring
Gūnai OnsenHokkaido · 宮内温泉Also sulfate and bicarbonate
Bicarbonate springSulfate spring
Onioshi OnsenGunma · 鬼押温泉Also sulfate and bicarbonate
Bicarbonate springSulfate spring
Mikagura OnsenNiigata · 御神楽温泉Also sulfate and bicarbonate
Bicarbonate springSulfate spring
Aizankei OnsenHokkaido · 愛山渓温泉Also sulfate and bicarbonate
Bicarbonate springSulfate spring
Kajiro OnsenFukushima · 神白温泉Also sulfate and bicarbonate, similar pH
Chloride spring+2

The numbers

Water temperature
51.6°C
pH
8.6 (mildly alkaline)
Inns
1
Address in Japanese
新潟県胎内市夏井

Figures from the town's Japanese Wikipedia article.

Read more

Japanese Wikipedia

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