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Kumanoyu Onsen

Nagano · 熊の湯温泉

Kumanoyu Onsen is a hot spring town in Nagano, Japan. The water leaves the ground at 63°C, hot. It measures pH 7.5 — close to neutral. Officially the water is classed as bicarbonate spring, sulfate spring and sulfur spring. Its sources put out around 72 litres a minute.

Getting there

From Tokyoabout 3 h

CarNot needed

JR PassNot a JR line

1. Train to Yudanaka Station
2. Local bus, about 40 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

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.

Sulfur spring 硫黄泉

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.

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

63°C

pH

7.5 (close to neutral)

Discharge

72 litres a minute

Address in Japanese

長野県下高井郡山ノ内町大字平穏

Figures from the town's Japanese Wikipedia article.

Read more

Japanese Wikipedia