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Mikawa Onsen

Niigata · 三川温泉

Mikawa Onsen is a hot spring town in Niigata, Japan. The water leaves the ground at 40–43°C, hot. Officially the water is classed as chloride spring and sulfate spring. Its sources put out around 349 litres a minute. 6 inns take visitors here with room for about 247 guests. About 2,049 people a year come to bathe.

Getting there

From Tokyoabout 3 h

CarNot needed

JR PassCovers the train

1. Train to Mikawa Station (JR)
2. Local bus, 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.

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.

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

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

Similar water elsewhere

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

The numbers

Water temperature

40–43°C

Discharge

349 litres a minute

Inns

6

Guest capacity

247

Visitors a year

2,049

Address in Japanese

新潟県東蒲原郡阿賀町五十沢

Figures from the town's Japanese Wikipedia article.

Read more

Japanese Wikipedia