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Photo: z tanuki · CC BY 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Shimosuwa Onsen

Nagano · 下諏訪温泉

Shimosuwa Onsen is a hot spring town in Nagano, Japan. Officially the water is classed as chloride spring and sulfate spring. Its sources put out around 5,000 litres a minute.

Getting there

From Tokyoabout 2½ h

CarNot needed

JR PassCovers the train

1. Train to Shimo-Suwa 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.

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.

More photographs

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

Things to see nearby

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.

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

Discharge

5,000 litres a minute

Address in Japanese

長野県諏訪郡下諏訪町

Figures from the town's Japanese Wikipedia article.

Where it is

36.0737, 138.0904 — open the map

Read more

Japanese Wikipedia