Yahiko Onsen
Yahiko Onsen is a hot spring town in Niigata, Japan. The water leaves the ground at 47.9°C, hot. Officially the water is classed as simple spring, chloride spring and sulfur spring. Its sources put out around 900 litres a minute. 10 inns take visitors here with room for about 857 guests. About 55,334 people a year come to bathe.
Getting there
- Train to Yahiko Station (JR)
- A short walk
The water here
Simple spring
Mild and low in dissolved minerals. Usually clear and gentle on the skin, which is why these baths are often recommended for first-timers.
Chloride spring
Salty water. The salt leaves a thin film on the skin, so you stay warm well after leaving the bath.
Sulfur spring
The classic rotten-egg smell and milky white water. It can tarnish silver jewellery, so take it off.
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.
Where to stay
Similar water elsewhere
The numbers
- Water temperature
- 47.9°C
- Discharge
- 900 litres a minute
- Inns
- 10
- Guest capacity
- 857
- Visitors a year
- 55,334
- Address in Japanese
- 新潟県西蒲原郡弥彦村
Figures from the town's Japanese Wikipedia article.
Read more
Other towns in Niigata
Planning a first soak? Read how an onsen stay works, and what to do if you have tattoos.