Akanko Onsen: Day-Use Hot Spring Baths & Prices

Lake Akan is home to marimo, the round algae designated a special natural monument. Along its southern shore spreads Akanko Onsen. A clear, easygoing simple spring makes bath-hopping a pleasure, while the town pulses with Ainu culture, drawing many travelers as a base for eastern Hokkaido sightseeing.

Highlights

• Lake Akan Ainu Kotan, one of Hokkaido largest Ainu villages, home to about 120 people
• Ainu traditional dance, designated an important intangible folk cultural property
• The world of marimo seen from lakeside hand baths and sightseeing boats

Enjoying the Seasons

Summer is popular for boat trips around the lake and learning about marimo. Autumn turns the surrounding mountains to color, and winter brings smelt fishing and fireworks on the frozen lake. Wrapped by lake and forest in clear air, the waters are exceptional in any season.

Access and Basic Information

• About 2 hours by Akan Bus from Kushiro Station
• About one hour and 10 minutes by Akan Bus from Tancho Kushiro Airport
• Walking distance from Akanko Bus Center to the hot spring town
• Spring type is simple spring
• The town has inns offering day-use bathing, along with free lakeside foot baths

Practical Travel Notes

• The Akan sightseeing boat runs a standard loop around the lake that includes a landing at the Marimo Exhibition and Observation Center, taking roughly 85 minutes, with time set aside to view marimo up close
• At the Akan Lake Ainu Theater Ikoro, stage performances such as Ainu traditional dance are held. Show seasons and start times vary through the year, so check the official schedule for the latest information
• The lane of craft shops and eateries in the Ainu Kotan is just the right size for a stroll between soaks, letting you browse woodcarving, embroidery, and other handwork
• A good rhythm is daytime, when the boats run, plus the quiet lakeside at dusk. Half a day suits a day trip, while an overnight stay lets you add a stage performance

A Quick Tip

The craft shops and traditional dance performances at the Ainu Kotan often run on set times, so checking the schedule along with your bath plans makes for a fuller stay. Some boat trips and events are seasonal, so plan around when you visit.

Practical Information for Your Visit

• Spring quality: Across the hot spring town as a whole, both simple springs and bicarbonate springs flow. The water at New Akan Hotel is described as a simple spring (neutral, hypotonic, high-temperature).
• Indications: Bicarbonate springs are said to be good for cuts, peripheral circulation disorders, sensitivity to cold and dry skin. Simple springs are said to help with autonomic nervous instability, insomnia and depressive states. New Akan Hotel lists neuralgia, muscle pain, joint pain, frozen shoulder, haemorrhoids and chronic digestive complaints.
• Foot bath (Lake Akan Marimo Foot Bath "Ure-Karip"): Free of charge, open all year round and at all hours, with free-flowing water straight from the source. It is located at 1-4-25 Akanko Onsen, Akan-cho, Kushiro City, and has no car park of its own.
• Day-use bathing (Akan Yuku no Sato Tsuruga): 14:00-18:00 (last entry 15:00); 2,500 yen for adults, 1,500 yen for children (age 4 to sixth grade of elementary school) and 500 yen for infants. Towels are available to rent. Register at the front desk. It operates year-round, but day-use bathing is not available during Golden Week (May 2-5), Obon (August 8-15), Silver Week (September 19-22) and the New Year period (December 30 to January 3).
• Stone-bed sauna set (same hotel): 15:00-18:00, 3,000 yen as a set with bathing. The stone-bed sauna cannot be used on its own, and it is not available to elementary school children or younger.
• Children of the opposite sex (same hotel): Children of the opposite sex may enter the large baths and changing rooms only up to the age of 6.
• Day-use bathing (New Akan Hotel): 12:00-17:00, 1,300 yen for adults and 650 yen for children. Register at the front desk. The hours may change on weekends and public holidays, during the spring, summer and winter school holidays, and over Golden Week.
• Towels (New Akan Hotel): A set of a bath towel and a face towel rents for 300 yen. You may also bring your own.
• Amenities (New Akan Hotel): The bathing area has shampoo, conditioner, body soap, facial soap and a heel brush. The changing room has lotion, brushes, cotton buds and hairdryers (plus emulsion and shower caps on the women's side, and razors on the men's side).
• Rooftop spa (New Akan Hotel): The "Tenku Garden Spa" on the roof of the Shangri-La wing can also be used by day visitors, and you must wear either a bathing robe (lent free of charge) or a swimsuit. It may close in bad weather.
• Parking: Guests of Tsuruga arriving by private car are asked to park in the paid car parks within Akanko Park.
• Access (by bus): About 75 minutes from Tancho Kushiro Airport to Akanko Bus Center on the Akan Airport Liner. The fare is 2,700 yen for adults and 1,350 yen for children, and reservations are required. The bus runs via Kushiro Station, Tancho no Sato and the Oakan junction, and also stops in front of the hotels in the hot spring town.
• Access (by car): About 60 minutes from Tancho Kushiro Airport, or about 80 minutes from JR Kushiro Station.
• Sightseeing boats: The Akan Kanko Kisen boats operate from April 15 to November 30 (services from April 15 to 30 are irregular). The route covers about 18 km in about 85 minutes, and includes a landing on Churui Island with about 15 minutes to look around the Marimo Exhibition and Observation Center. Fares are 2,700 yen for adults and 1,390 yen for children. The boats start and finish at Marimo no Sato Pier.
• Address: Akanko Onsen, Akan-cho, Kushiro City, Hokkaido (inquiries: Akan Tourism Association Community Development Organization, 0154-67-3200)
• How long to allow: About an hour if you are only bathing. Half a day if you combine it with a stroll around the Ainu Kotan and a boat cruise, and an overnight stay for a relaxed itinerary that includes the traditional Ainu dance performance.

📚 Sources

The spring quality and indications for the hot spring town as a whole, along with the address and contact details, come from the Lake Akan Onsen page of Hokkaido's official tourism site "HOKKAIDO LOVE!", while the price, hours, location and origin of the name of the "Ure-Karip" foot bath come from the facility guide and notices on the official Kushiro and Lake Akan tourism site. The day-use bathing hours and fees, the stone-bed sauna set, the closing days and the parking information were taken from the day-use plan page on the official website of Akan Yuku no Sato Tsuruga, and the description of the simple spring, its benefits, the bathroom amenities, towel rental and the conditions for using the Tenku Garden Spa from the hot spring page on the official website of New Akan Hotel. The operating season, duration, fares and landing time of the sightseeing boats were confirmed from the official Akan Kanko Kisen website, and the journey time and fares of the Akan Airport Liner from the information on the official Kushiro and Lake Akan tourism site. Note that the neighbouring "Akanko Tsuruga Wings" was merged into Akan Yuku no Sato Tsuruga in April 2024 and is now that hotel's "Wings wing". Details are subject to change, so please check official sources before you set out.