Kaga Onsen Hot Spring Hopping One Day Course

This plan tours the Kaga onsen area, where Yamashiro, Yamanaka, and Awazu hot springs gather, all in one day. You can enjoy historic public baths, the gorge scenery of Kakusenkei, and the local Kutani porcelain culture. A rental car or the loop bus makes moving around easy.

Course Route

9:30 Start at Kaga Onsen Station Begin at JR Kaga Onsen Station. Picking up a one day loop bus pass at the information desk makes travel smooth. 10:00 Yamashiro Onsen Ko Soyu Visit the Ko Soyu, a restored Meiji era bathhouse. Enjoy a morning bath in a beautiful hall of stained glass and Kutani tiles, where even the old bathing style is recreated. The bathing fee is around 700 yen for adults, and a combined ticket with the modern Soyu next door is also offered. Since the traditional style is simply soaking without soap or shampoo, use the Soyu side if you want to wash off. 11:30 Browse Kutani Kilns and Galleries View and shop for the colorful Kutani porcelain at kilns and galleries around Yamashiro. 13:00 Lunch and Kakusenkei in Yamanaka Move to Yamanaka Onsen and have lunch in the spa town. View the gorge scenery of Kakusenkei from the Ayatori and Korogi bridges. When the riverside terraces are open, you can also enjoy tea along the gorge. 15:00 Yamanaka Onsen Kiku no Yu Soak slowly in the smooth waters of the Kiku no Yu public bath, which has the nationally rare feature of separate buildings for men and women. The fee is around 500 yen for adults. It opens from early morning to late night, roughly 6:45 to 22:00, and closes on some second and fourth Tuesdays. The bath is a deep standing bath of about one meter. 16:30 A Final Bath at Awazu Onsen Head to Awazu Onsen, said to have opened 1300 years ago. Soothe your travel fatigue at the public bath to finish the day.

Highlights

Yamashiro is also known for its ties to the artist Rosanjin and has a cultural air. The Kakusenkei gorge of Yamanaka offers seasonal beauty from fresh greenery to autumn leaves. The vivid colors of Kutani porcelain make a fine local souvenir.

Access and Tips

Using the loop bus from Kaga Onsen Station lets you hop on and off at the main spots. Since the hot spring towns are a little apart, a rental car is also handy for efficient touring. Public baths generally require you to bring your own towel, so prepare one.

Practical Travel Notes

• Best season and time: For the Kakusenkei scenery, the fresh greenery of May and June and the autumn colors of October and November are especially beautiful. Public baths are relatively empty in the morning and before evening, so you can enjoy the water at ease.
• Time needed: Each hot spring town is about a 10 to 20 minute drive from Kaga Onsen Station. Doing all three springs and Kakusenkei in one day is a little rushed, so focusing on two springs for a relaxed pace is also a good idea.
• Budget sense: Public baths run a few hundred yen each, with Yamanaka Kiku no Yu around 500 yen for adults and Yamashiro Ko Soyu around 700 yen. Even visiting three or four baths keeps the bathing cost within a few thousand yen. Budget separately for lunch and Kutani porcelain shopping.
• Avoiding crowds: Weekends and long holidays crowd the public baths too. Aiming for first thing in the morning or around 3 pm gives a calmer bath.
• Nearby real spots: The Ayatori and Korogi bridges over the Kakusenkei gorge in Yamanaka, and the Rosanjin related Iroha Soan in Yamashiro, are among the sights you can drop by between baths.

A Quick Tip

If you plan to visit several public baths, bring extra towels and a change of clothes for comfort. Some baths, like the Ko Soyu, do not allow soap, so choose a Soyu with showers when you want to wash off thoroughly. Each bath has its own character, so comparing how your skin feels after each is part of the fun.

📚 Sources

This article draws on information published by the Kaga Onsen resort tourism association and its individual hot-spring towns and facilities, official tourism information from Kaga City, and transport guidance, organizing a bath-hopping model course for the Kaga Onsen area from a general perspective. Opening hours, bathing fees, and closed days at each facility, and transport operating conditions, may change, so please check the latest details on the official tourism association and facility information before you set out.

Visitor Checklist

• Estimated time: A bath-hopping course touring several hot-spring towns generally takes half a day to a full day. The longer you soak, the more spare time you should allow.
• What to bring / prepare: Several towels and changes of clothes are handy for bath-hopping. Shared bathing passes are sometimes available, so checking in advance lets you tour more economically.
• Suggested route: Touring the Yamanaka, Yamashiro, Katayamazu, and Awazu towns mentioned in the body in an easy-to-travel order is efficient. Enjoy the differences in each spring's feel and townscape.
• Ways to enjoy the surroundings: Combining strolls in each town with spots that touch on Kaga culture, such as Kutani ware, adds depth to the bath-hopping.
• Points to note: Closed days and hours differ by facility, so checking each facility's business days when deciding your order is reassuring.

Practical Information for Your Visit

• What this course assumes: It takes about 7 hours (roughly 9:30 to 16:30) and starts from JR Kaga Onsen Station, travelling by the Kaga sightseeing bus CAN BUS or by rental car. Each hot spring town is 10 to 20 minutes by car from Kaga Onsen Station.
• Yamashiro Onsen Ko-Soyu: Open 6:00-22:00, closed on the morning of the fourth Wednesday (open as usual in the afternoon). Bathing fees are 700 yen for adults (12 and over), 280 yen for older children, 140 yen for younger children and free for those under 3. A combined ticket with the Soyu bathhouse costs 1,000 yen for adults. As it is a hands-on hot spring museum where soap and shampoo cannot be used, go to the Soyu bathhouse if you want to wash.
• Yamanaka Onsen Kiku no Yu: Open 6:45-22:00, closed on the second and fourth Tuesday (the following day when Tuesday is a public holiday). Bathing fees are 500 yen for adults (12 and over), 150 yen for older children, 70 yen for younger children and free for those under 3. The men's and women's baths are in separate buildings, an arrangement that is rare anywhere in Japan. The car park has space for about 100 cars. TEL 0761-78-4026.
• Access: For Kiku no Yu, take the mountain loop of the Kaga sightseeing bus CAN BUS from Kaga Onsen Station and get off at Yamanaka Onsen Kiku no Yu / Yamanakaza, right by the bathhouse, or take the Hokutetsu Kaga Bus Onsen-Yamanaka Line (stand 2 at Kaga Onsen Station) and get off at Kiku no Yu-mae. It is about 10.5 km from Kaga Onsen Station and about 12.1 km from the Kaga IC on the Hokuriku Expressway.
• Points to note: At public bathhouses you are generally expected to bring your own towel and soap. If you are hopping between several of them, bring plenty of changes of clothes. Closing days differ from facility to facility, so it is reassuring to check each one's closed days before deciding the order of your route.

Note: Bathing fees may be revised when Ishikawa Prefecture revises its public bathhouse charges.

(Sources: official website of the Yamashiro Onsen Tourism Association; official website of Kaga Onsenkyo; and others. As of July 2026.)