Gensen Noten Buro Nakagawa Seiryu: Day-Use Hot Spring

Holding natural water drawn from deep beneath the Sefuri foothills, Nakagawa Seiryu is a leading day spa of Nakagawa City. The water is smooth and mild on the skin, and it is loved as a bath that everyone from children to the elderly can enjoy. With private family baths of differing character and a stone-sauna area, it is a place to spend a relaxed day.

Highlights

• Natural water drawn from the granite layers of the Sefuri foothills, smooth and gentle to the touch
• Private family baths with differing themes of charcoal, cypress, lava, and great stone, for private bathing time
• An open, breezy atmosphere where you soak in open-air baths while feeling the breeze of the season

Enjoying the Seasons

Spring brings fresh greenery around the grounds, and summer makes the open-air baths pleasant as a cool mountain breeze passes through. Autumn offers foliage over the Sefuri hills, and in winter the rising steam wraps around you and eases the cold, so you can enjoy the distinct face of each season.

Access and Basic Information

• Location: 326 Nanomeri, Nakagawa City, Fukuoka Prefecture
• Access: about 20 minutes by car from Ohashi Station on the Nishitetsu Tenjin Omuta Line, or about 15 minutes from JR Hakata-Minami Station. Parking for about 150 cars
• Spring quality: natural water with a smooth touch
• Day use: admission is 1400 yen on weekdays and 1600 yen on weekends and holidays (junior-high age and above). Open 10:00 to 22:00 (last entry 21:00), closed Thursdays. A stone-sauna area, dining, and family baths are also on site. Fees and hours may change, so checking ahead is wise

Practical Travel Notes

• Best season and time: the open-air baths feel especially fine amid fresh spring greenery or autumn foliage, and just after opening or on weekday afternoons is more relaxed
• Avoiding crowds: the private family baths are popular and fill on weekends, so visit with time to spare, ideally early. Pairing with the stone sauna is also recommended
• Time needed: one to two hours for bathing alone, or about half a day including the stone sauna and a meal
• Nearby real spots: the nature of Nakagawa, with central Hakata and Tenjin reachable by car, a fine close to Fukuoka sightseeing
• Budget sense: admission is in the thousand-yen range. Even with the stone sauna and a meal, about three thousand yen per person makes for a full day

A Quick Tip

The private family baths are popular and can fill up on weekends. If you want a private stay, visiting early with time to spare brings peace of mind. The open-air baths are best on a fine day, when the seasonal breeze feels most pleasant.

Practical Information for Your Visit

• Spring quality: Well No. 1 is a simple spring (hypotonic, neutral, low-temperature spring); Well No. 2 is a simple weakly radioactive cold mineral spring (hypotonic, neutral cold mineral spring)
• Source temperature and flow rate: Well No. 1 is 27.9 degrees with 188 liters per minute; Well No. 2 is 20.9 degrees. Both are pumped up mechanically (surveyed on December 12, 2023)
• Indications: chronic pain and stiffness in the muscles and joints, sensitivity to cold, poor peripheral circulation, weakened gastrointestinal function, autonomic nervous instability, recovery from fatigue and more. Well No. 2 also covers hyperuricemia (gout) and rheumatoid arthritis
• Opening hours: the whole facility is open 10:00-22:00 (last entry 21:00). During the summer holiday period (July 18 to August 31) it is 10:00-23:00 (last admission 22:00). The stone sauna is open 10:30-21:30 (last admission 21:00) and the restaurant Natsume is open 11:30-21:00 (last order 20:30)
• Closed: every Thursday. Additional temporary closing days may be set, and these are announced in the closure notices on the official website
• Admission: general admission is 1,400 yen on weekdays and 1,600 yen on weekends and public holidays. The New Year period, Golden Week and Obon are charged at the high-season rate of 1,900 yen. Children (age 3 to sixth grade of elementary school) pay 600 yen, and junior high school students and older pay the adult rate. Visitors aged 12 and over pay an additional bathing tax of 70 yen
• Membership rates: with a 500 yen enrollment fee you can register as a member and pay 1,100 yen on weekdays and 1,200 yen on weekends and public holidays. Admission is free on your birthday itself, and 500 yen on any day during your birthday month
• Private family baths: 50 minutes at a per-room price of 3,500 yen on weekdays, 3,900 yen on weekends and public holidays, and 4,200 yen in the high season. If you use only the family bath, no admission fee is required. A single person cannot use it alone, and the maximum is five people, up to two adults and three children. Reservations for the following month are accepted from the 20th of each month; weekday use can be booked up to the day itself and weekend and public holiday use up to the previous day. On the day, reception at the front desk is first-come, first-served
• Stone sauna Rairaku: unlimited time, 1,000 yen on weekdays and 1,200 yen on weekends and public holidays. There are 20 beds shared by men and women, with a room temperature of around 40 degrees and humidity of around 70 percent. The stone sauna cannot be used on its own
• Tattoos: people with tattoos or traditional Japanese irezumi may not bathe here. Fashion tattoos and stick-on tattoos are included
• Amenities provided: shampoo, conditioner, body soap, bar soap, toner, milky lotion, hairdryers, cotton swabs, cotton pads, hair tonic and hairbrushes. ReFa BEAUTECH DRYER PRO hairdryers have been installed in the men's and women's powder rooms (only in part of the men's side) and in the family baths
• Towels: towels are not provided, and you may bring your own. At the front desk a face towel costs 250 yen to buy, a bath towel 250 yen to rent, indoor wear 250 yen to rent, a towel set 400 yen and a three-piece set 600 yen. A body towel, razor or toothbrush is 100 yen each, and a blanket rental is 100 yen
• Visiting with small children: children under 3 cannot use the large public baths and may use only the family baths. From elementary school age, children use the bath matching their gender. Children may not use the facility on their own
• Payment: cash is accepted, as well as credit cards (JCB, AMEX, Diners, VISA, Master, Discover), PayPay, LINE Pay and d-barai
• Rest areas: two free relaxation rooms, Higashi-Sajiki and Nishi-Sajiki, are available
• Getting there (by car): about 25 minutes from Nishitetsu Ohashi Station, about 15 minutes from JR Hakata-Minami Station, and about 8 km and about 15 minutes from Notame IC on the Fukuoka Urban Expressway. Take National Route 385 toward Higashi-Seburi, then from the Yamada intersection in Nakagawa City cross Kyoei Bridge and continue about 450 m
• Getting there (free shuttle bus): a free shuttle bus runs daily to and from Nishitetsu Ohashi Station. Departures from Ohashi Station run 9:30-19:15 and departures from Seiryu run 11:20-21:20, calling at the Mukaishinmachi, Roji, Katanawa-Higashi, Nakagawa Eigyosho and Nishiguma Shiyakusho-iriguchi bus stops, and taking about 27 minutes from Ohashi Station. Seating is limited, so large items of luggage such as suitcases cannot be brought on board
• Parking: available
• Note for winter: because the facility sits in the mountains, opening hours may be shortened when it snows. If you take the route over Ogasagi Pass from the western part of Fukuoka City, make sure your car is properly equipped
• Time needed: 1-2 hours for bathing alone, or half a day if you include the stone sauna, a meal and a rest in the sajiki lounges
• Address: 326 Nanmenri, Nakagawa City, Fukuoka 811-1236

📚 Sources

The opening hours, closing days, admission fees, prices for the family baths and stone sauna, towel rental and sale prices, payment methods and the policy on tattoos are based on the Fees page of the official Nakagawa Seiryu website. The spring quality, source temperature, flow rate and indications were checked against the hot spring analysis reports for Wells No. 1 and No. 2 published on the same site (surveyed on December 12, 2023, dated January 9, 2024). The layout of the open-air and family baths and the amenities provided come from the About the Open-Air Baths and About the Family Baths pages of the official site, the stone sauna facilities from the Rairaku page, and the driving route and the times and stops of the free shuttle bus from the access page and the official shuttle bus timetable. Fees and opening hours are subject to change, so please check the official information before you set out.