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Photo: Ans · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Shimobe Spa

Yamanashi · 下部温泉

Shimobe Spa is a hot spring town in Yamanashi, Japan. The water leaves the ground at 21.7°C, cool enough that the baths here are usually reheated. Officially the water is classed as simple spring. 12 inns take visitors here.

Getting there

From Tokyoabout 2 h
From Kyoto / Osakaabout 3 h
CarNot needed
JR PassCovers the train
  1. Train to Shimobe-onsen Station (JR)
  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.

Simple spring

The water here

Simple spring 単純温泉

Mild and low in dissolved minerals. Usually clear and gentle on the skin, which is why these baths are often recommended for first-timers.

More photographs

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

Things to see nearby

Kuon-ji TempleTemple · 6.9 km
Mount KenashiMountain · 5.7 km
Hongokuji TempleTemple · 3.9 km
Jinba FallsWaterfall · 9.5 km
Lake ShibireLake · 12.3 km
Fujiten Snow ResortSki area · 18.8 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.

Rooms with an open-air bath — YamanashiInns with a private bath — Yamanashi

More on tattoos and onsen

Where to stay

Onsen inns — Minobu 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

Jikkoku OnsenYamanashi · 十谷温泉12.1 km northwest
Sulfate springIron spring
Kōgennosato OnsenYamanashi · 光源の里温泉14.2 km northwest
Chloride spring+2
Amehatako OnsenYamanashi · 雨畑湖温泉14.2 km west
Sulfur spring
Nanbuarukadeia OnsenYamanashi · 南部アルカディア温泉16 km south
Simple spring
Jūmaisō OnsenYamanashi · 十枚荘温泉16.5 km south
Chloride spring
Akaishi OnsenYamanashi · 赤石温泉17.9 km northwest
Iron springAcidic spring

Similar water elsewhere

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

Ogoto OnsenShiga · 雄琴温泉Also simple
Simple spring
Nanasawa Onsen-kyoKanagawa · 七沢温泉Also simple
Simple spring
Hayatarō OnsenNagano · 早太郎温泉Also simple
Simple spring
Yamanakako OnsenYamanashi · 山中湖温泉Also simple
Simple spring
Sakakibara OnsenMie · 榊原温泉Also simple
Simple spring
Dorogawa OnsenNara · 洞川温泉Also simple
Simple spring

The numbers

Water temperature
21.7°C
Inns
12
Address in Japanese
山梨県南巨摩郡身延町下部

Figures from the town's Japanese Wikipedia article.

Where it is

35.4228, 138.4819 — 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.