Yunokawa Onsen: Day-Use Hot Spring Baths & Prices

Southeast of Hakodate, at the lowest reaches of the Matsukura River, springs Yunokawa Onsen. Facing the Tsugaru Strait, it ranks among the three great hot spring resorts of Hokkaido alongside Noboribetsu and Jozankei. Records say a lord of the Matsumae domain healed an illness here in 1653, making it one of Hokkaido oldest springs, and its clear, easygoing chloride water warms the body.

Highlights

• A seaside hot spring town facing the Tsugaru Strait with heat-holding chloride water
• An excellent location reachable easily by tram
• The fishing lanterns of squid boats swaying on the sea from summer to winter

Enjoying the Seasons

From June to December, the lanterns of squid boats on the Tsugaru Strait, seen while soaking, are a sight unique to Hakodate. It pairs easily with city sightseeing such as the Mount Hakodate night view and the morning market, and the grand strait views can be enjoyed all year.

Access and Basic Information

• About 5 minutes by car from Hakodate Airport
• About 20 minutes by car from JR Hakodate Station, also reachable by tram
• Right by the Yunokawa Onsen tram stop
• Spring type is sodium and calcium chloride spring
• The town has inns accepting day-use bathing and free foot baths dotted about

Practical Travel Notes

• Just about five minutes from the airport, it is one of Japan hot spring towns closest to an airport. With a tram stop right beside it, the location makes an easy base for Hakodate sightseeing even without a car
• Between soaks, you can casually enjoy the foot bath near the tram stop and the one inside the Hakodate Tropical Botanical Garden. At the garden, from winter into spring you can see the rare sight of monkeys bathing in a hot spring
• The town has Yukura Shrine, tied to the origin of the springs, as a stop on a stroll. Its appeal is being easy to pair with city sights such as the Mount Hakodate night view and the morning market
• The best times are evenings from early summer into winter, when the fishing lanterns show, and winter, when the monkey bathing can be seen. A day trip fills half a day with a bath and a stroll, while an overnight stay is comfortable if combined with city sightseeing

A Quick Tip

Salty water keeps you from chilling after the bath. Easy to drop by before or after Hakodate sightseeing, it makes a fine soak to warm a body cooled by night-view watching. Using the tram, you can move easily toward Hakodate Station, making it a spot that is convenient even without a car.

Practical Information for Your Visit

• Spring quality: Sodium-calcium chloride hot spring (Daimoriyu). Because it contains salt, the warmth stays with you after your bath
• Indications: Neuralgia, muscle pain, joint pain, frozen shoulder and sensitivity to cold
• Source temperature: Around 65 degrees on average across the hot spring area. The source temperature at Daimoriyu is 63.5 degrees, and the bathtubs are 42 to 49 degrees
• Water handling: Daimoriyu adds no water, adjusting the temperature by heat exchange instead. Many of the hotels in the hot spring town use a combined free-flowing and circulating system
• Daimoriyu opening hours: Two sessions, 9:00 to 12:00 in the morning and 15:00 to 21:00 in the afternoon. It closes once at midday, so mind the times
• Daimoriyu closing day: Wednesdays
• Bathing fee: 500 yen for adults, 150 yen for elementary school students and 80 yen for infants (under 6)
• Amenities: Shampoo and soap are not provided. A "bath set" including a towel is available, so you can come empty-handed
• Open-air and private baths: Daimoriyu has neither (indoor baths only)
• Footbath: The hot spring town has a free footbath, "Yumeguri Butai" (1-16-5 Yunokawa-cho, Hakodate City)
• Parking: Daimoriyu has 10 spaces
• Access: About 5 minutes by car from Hakodate Airport. Get off at the "Yunokawa" streetcar stop; Daimoriyu is a 2-minute walk away. The address is 2-chome-18-23 Yunokawa-cho, Hakodate City, Hokkaido
• Hakodate Tropical Botanical Garden: Located in 3-chome Yunokawa-cho, with a footbath in the grounds. It is open 9:30 to 18:00 from April 1 to October 31, and 9:30 to 16:30 from November 1 to March 31. The famous monkey hot spring runs only in winter, and in 2026 it is scheduled to start in December (the monkeys can be seen outside the winter season as well)
• Suggested time: About an hour if you only bathe; half a day if you add Yukura Shrine and a tour of the footbaths
• To avoid the crowds: Daimoriyu has many local regulars and gets lively from the evening onward. For a quiet soak, aim for the morning session or just after the afternoon reopening
• Payment: The old-fashioned system, where you pay the bathing fee directly at the attendant's counter

📚 Sources

The origins of the hot spring (the 1653 cure-taking visit of Takahiro, lord of the Matsumae domain), the origins of Yukura Shrine, the anecdotes of Enomoto Takeaki and the Battle of Hakodate, the 1885 (Meiji 18) drilling by Ishikawa Tosuke, and the volume of water, number of sources, average source temperature and the free-flowing, circulating-filtration and combined systems of water handling come from the page "The History of Yunokawa Onsen" on the official site of the Hakodate Yunokawa Onsen Ryokan Cooperative. The bathing fee, spring quality, source temperature, bath temperature, parking, access and history of Daimoriyu are based on the spot introduction on Hakodate City's official tourism site "Hakobura" and the highlights page of the cooperative's official site. The opening hours and closing day of Daimoriyu come from the bathhouse search of the Hokkaido Public Bathhouse Environmental Health Business Cooperative. The opening hours of the Hakodate Tropical Botanical Garden and the period of the monkey hot spring come from the announcements on the garden's official site. Details are subject to change, so please check the official information before setting out.