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Chūgū Onsen
Chūgū Onsen is a hot spring town in Ishikawa, Japan. The water leaves the ground at 61°C, hot. It measures pH 6.8 — close to neutral. Officially the water is classed as chloride spring and bicarbonate spring. Its sources put out around 130 litres a minute. 2 inns take visitors here.
The water here
Chloride spring
Salty water. The salt leaves a thin film on the skin, so you stay warm well after leaving the bath.
Bicarbonate spring
Smooth, slightly slippery water. Often nicknamed bihada-no-yu, the water for beautiful skin.
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
Hot spring towns nearby
Similar water elsewhere
The numbers
- Water temperature
- 61°C
- pH
- 6.8 (close to neutral)
- Discharge
- 130 litres a minute
- Inns
- 2
- Address in Japanese
- 石川県白山市中宮
Figures from the town's Japanese Wikipedia article.
Read more
Planning a first soak? Read how an onsen stay works, and what to do if you have tattoos.