Kahadakyo Onsen: Day-Use Hot Spring Baths & Prices (Mie)

The Kahada Gorge, spreading upstream on the Kushida River through the Iitaka district of Matsusaka, is known for the beauty woven by its clear current and sheer rock faces. Kahadakyo Onsen, which wells up along this gorge, lies deep in the mountains near the border with Nara and suits those who wish to spend quiet time away from the bustle. The mountain-and-river scenery beyond the windows is the finest treat of all.

Highlights

The Kahada Gorge is cherished as a beautiful ravine, with pools, rapids, and curious rocks lining the river. Nearby are waterfalls and forest paths where you can bathe in greenery to the sound of the clear stream. Along the old road that continues toward Wakayama, traces of historic post stations remain, and some travelers stop by on a drive. The Iitaka roadside station has an attached day-use hot spring where you can relax in an open-air bath overlooking the Kushida River.

Enjoying the Seasons

With spring greenery and mountain cherries, the cool stream of summer, and autumn foliage, the gorge changes color through the year. Autumn in particular paints the slopes red and gold, and the scenery mirrored on the water is splendid. In winter you can soak in the silence and have the clear air and mountain views all to yourself.

Access and Basic Information

From central Matsusaka, head west along the national road that follows the Kushida River; coming by car is convenient. By public transport, take a bus from Matsusaka Station. The Iitakanoyu day-use bath at the Iitaka roadside station offers a variety of tubs, including an open-air bath overlooking the clear Kushida River, and its neutral water has a gentle touch on the skin. The mountain location means travel takes time, but that is exactly what keeps the setting so peaceful.

Practical Travel Notes

Iitakanoyu prices day-use bathing separately for adults, children, and seniors, and it sets operating hours and a regular closing day. Landing on the closing day means no bath, so confirming the open days before your visit is reassuring. Some facilities swap the men's and women's baths on alternate days, so if a particular bath is your goal, check in advance. The roadside station also has a dining area and a shop for local specialties, and hands-on menus such as soba-making are offered on certain days. Mobile signal is weak in places in the mountains, so preparing maps and routes in advance is wise.

A Quick Tip

Because this is a mountain area, checking road conditions and opening hours before you go is reassuring. Mobile signal is weak in places, so preparing maps and routes in advance is wise.

Practical Information for Your Visit

• Spring quality: Sodium chloride and bicarbonate cold mineral spring (hypotonic, neutral cold mineral spring), pH 6.3
• Source temperature: 17.7°C
• Water treatment: Water is added, heated and circulated through a filtration system
• Reputed benefits: Peripheral circulatory disorders, dry skin, autonomic nervous instability, rheumatoid arthritis, lower back pain, neuralgia, frozen shoulder, sensitivity to cold, diabetes, mild hypercholesterolemia, mild asthma, hemorrhoid pain, recovery from fatigue and more
• Baths: 11 types in all. Indoor bath, open-air bath, steam bath, maki-buro (wood-fired bath), kame-buro (jar bath), kama-buro (cauldron bath), medicinal herb bath, lying-down bath, dry sauna and cold plunge bath
• Day-use bathing reception: 10:00-20:00 (the facility closes at 20:45)
• Closed: Every Wednesday (open when Wednesday is a public holiday, closing instead on the following weekday), and December 31 to January 1
• Bathing fees (revised April 2025): 870 yen for adults, 630 yen for visitors aged 65 and over, 630 yen for holders of a disability certificate, 490 yen for children (age 4 through elementary school), free of charge for children aged 3 and under. Books of 10 tickets cost 7,200 yen for adults and 5,800 yen for visitors aged 65 and over
• Tattoos: Visitors with tattoos or similar body decoration may not enter or use the facility
• Provided amenities: Shampoo, conditioner, body soap and hairdryers are free of charge. The lockers and valuables lockers are coin-return type, and there are 104 changing lockers each in the men's and women's areas
• Items for sale: Towel 100 yen, bath towel 700 yen, razor 200 yen, comb 110 yen, brush 220 yen, women's cosmetics set 550 yen
• Wheelchair users and visitors with babies: You can enter the indoor bathing area in a wheelchair (please speak to a staff member near the ticket machine; staff cannot provide personal assistance, and one accompanying helper is admitted free of charge). Both the men's and women's changing rooms have a multipurpose toilet, a baby bed and a diaper-changing bed. Each changing room has 2 larger lockers that can hold a prosthetic leg
• Footing and steps: The bathing area has shower chairs, handrails and steps inside the tubs. Note, however, that the stairs leading out to the open-air bath have no handrail
• Parking: 91 spaces, free of charge (plus 8 spaces for large vehicles). The RV park has 5 paid spaces
• Access (public transport): From platform 4 of the bus terminal at the west (main) exit of Matsusaka Station (JR and Kintetsu), take the Mie Kotsu bus bound for Roadside Station Iitaka-eki or for Hotel Sumeru, ride about 1 hour, and get off at Roadside Station Iitaka-eki; the facility is right there
• Access (by car): About 30 km and 40 minutes from Matsusaka IC on the Ise Expressway. About 20 km and 30 minutes from Sewa-Taki IC on the Kisei Expressway. About 65 km and 90 minutes from Hari IC on the Meihan National Highway
• Time to allow: 1-2 hours if you only take a bath; half a day if you combine it with a walk at Mezurashi Pass
• On-site facilities: Restaurant Iitaka (11:00-19:00, last order 18:30; from 14:00 to 17:00 only a simplified menu of noodles and similar dishes is served), Iitaka no Mise shop (9:00-18:00), and the soba-making workshop Miraku Kobo (start times from 10:00 to 15:00, reservations given priority)
• Location: 177 Miyamae, Iitaka-cho, Matsusaka City, Mie Prefecture (Iitaka no Yu, tel. 0598-46-1114)

There is one more hot spring inn in the forest of Iitaka-cho in the Kahada Gorge. Long loved as Kahadakyo Onsen Mori no Hotel Sumeru, it now operates as Wanwan Paradise Matsusaka, where you can stay with your dog. Day-use bathing at the natural hot spring Kahada no Yu is available from 11:00 to 18:00 (reception until 17:00), and it is closed on Mondays.

Sources of This Information

The spring quality, source temperature, details of the added water, heating and circulating filtration, pH value, reputed benefits, reception hours, closing days, the bathing fees and ticket books revised in April 2025, the types of baths, the amenities and the prices of items for sale, and the conditions under which visitors may not enter Iitaka no Yu were all confirmed on the natural hot spring page of the official website of Roadside Station Iitaka-eki. Details on how to enter in a wheelchair, the equipment in the changing rooms and bathing area, and the condition of the stairs leading out to the open-air bath come from the barrier-free page of the same site; the bus information from Matsusaka Station and the distances and travel times from each interchange come from the access and road information page; and the year Iitaka-eki opened, the background to its registration as a roadside station, the number of bathers, and the certification of the Mezurashi Pass walking course and its guide service come from the relevant pages of the same site. The number of parking spaces was taken from the page for this facility on Kanko Mie, the site of the Mie Prefecture Tourism Federation. The name, day-use bathing hours, closing day and location of Wanwan Paradise Matsusaka are based on the member establishment information of the Matsusaka City Tourism Association. As details may change, please check the official information before you set out.