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Kakuma Onsen

Nagano · 角間温泉

Kakuma Onsen is a hot spring town in Nagano, Japan. The water leaves the ground at 98°C, hot enough that it has to be cooled before anyone can get in. Officially the water is classed as chloride spring and sulfate spring.

Getting there

From Tokyoabout 3 h
CarNot needed
JR PassNot a JR line
  1. Train to Yudanaka Station
  2. Local bus

Fly into Haneda or Narita. Times are rough estimates worked out from station locations, not a timetable — check the exact route on Google Maps.

Chloride springSulfate spring

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.

Things to see nearby

Takanashi clan fortified residenceCastle · 5.2 km
Mount YakebitaiMountain · 8.8 km
Ryuoo Ski ParkSki area · 6.7 km
Yamadaboku Wild Snow ParkSki area · 7.1 km
Kaminari FallsWaterfall · 7.7 km
Nyohō-ji TempleTemple · 4.6 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 — NaganoInns with a private bath — Nagano

More on tattoos and onsen

Where to stay

Onsen inns — Nagano

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

Shibu OnsenNagano · 渋温泉0.8 km north
Chloride spring
Andai OnsenNagano · 安代温泉0.9 km north
Chloride spring
Kanbayashi OnsenNagano · 上林温泉1.1 km east
Chloride springSulfate spring
Yudanaka OnsenNagano · 湯田中温泉1.6 km northwest
Chloride springSulfur spring
Honami OnsenNagano · 穂波温泉1.8 km northwest
Chloride springSulfate spring
Hoshikawa OnsenNagano · 星川温泉1.9 km northwest
Chloride spring+2

Similar water elsewhere

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

Shima OnsenGunma · 四万温泉Also sulfate and chloride
Chloride springSulfate spring
Asamushi OnsenAomori · 浅虫温泉Also sulfate and chloride
Chloride springSulfate spring
Yamashiro OnsenIshikawa · 山代温泉Also sulfate and chloride
Chloride springSulfate spring
Hawai OnsenTottori · はわい温泉Also sulfate and chloride
Chloride springSulfate spring
Tōgatta OnsenMiyagi · 遠刈田温泉Also sulfate and chloride
Chloride springSulfate spring
Yugawara OnsenKanagawa · 湯河原温泉Also sulfate and chloride
Chloride springSulfate spring

The numbers

Water temperature
98°C

Figures from the town's Japanese Wikipedia article.

Where it is

36.7275, 138.4307 — 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.