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Photo: Mass Ave 975 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Honzawa Onsen

Nagano · 本沢温泉

Honzawa Onsen is a hot spring town in Nagano, Japan. Officially the water is classed as sulfate spring and sulfur spring. 1 inns take visitors here.

Getting there

From Tokyoabout 3 h
CarLast stretch on foot
JR PassCovers the train
  1. Train to Matsubarako Station (JR)
  2. Local bus, then on foot along a mountain trail

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

Sulfate springSulfur spring

The water here

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.

More photographs

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

Things to see nearby

Mount TenguMountain · 1.7 km
Takashima CastleCastle · 23.7 km
Koumi-machi Kōgen Museum of ArtArt museum · 8 km
Doryu FallsWaterfall · 11.6 km
Shirakabako Royal HillSki area · 16 km
Taruhime FallsWaterfall · 14.4 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 — Minamimaki Village

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

Inagoyu OnsenNagano · 稲子湯温泉4.3 km northeast
Carbon dioxide springSulfur spring
Shibu Goten-yu OnsenNagano · 渋御殿湯温泉4.7 km northwest
Acidic springSulfur spring
Matsubarako OnsenNagano · 松原湖温泉8 km northeast
Bicarbonate spring
Yokoya OnsenNagano · 横谷温泉9.1 km west
Carbon dioxide springIron spring
Sakuuminokuchi Hot spaNagano · 佐久海ノ口温泉10.5 km east
Chloride springBicarbonate spring
Ikenotaira OnsenNagano · 池の平温泉15.9 km northwest
Simple spring

Similar water elsewhere

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

Asahi OnsenHokkaido · 朝日温泉Also sulfur and sulfate
Sulfate springSulfur spring
Hokkein OnsenOita · 法華院温泉Also sulfur and sulfate
Sulfate springSulfur spring
Kawanaka OnsenGunma · 川中温泉Also sulfur and sulfate
Sulfate springSulfur spring
Shintakayu OnsenYamagata · 新高湯温泉Also sulfur and sulfate
Sulfate springSulfur spring
Ōdaira OnsenYamagata · 大平温泉Also sulfur and sulfate
Sulfate springSulfur spring
Sarukura OnsenAomori · 猿倉温泉Also sulfur and sulfate
Sulfate springSulfur spring

The numbers

Inns
1
Address in Japanese
長野県南佐久郡南牧村

Figures from the town's Japanese Wikipedia article.

Where it is

36.0119, 138.3728 — 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.