Baths Around Huis Ten Bosch: Day-Use Hot Spring Prices

Spread along Omura Bay in Sasebo, Huis Ten Bosch is a popular theme park that recreates the streets of Europe. Beneath it wells up a natural hot spring containing salt, so you can loosen a body that has walked all day before heading home. What makes this area interesting is that it has two baths of quite different character: a day-use hot spring you can enter without a park admission ticket, and a hot spring that opens up a hotel's large public bath.

Highlights

Known for its colorful flowers and illuminations, the park changes its look with each season. Canal cruises and views from a tall tower are also draws. Nearby, the calm scenery of Omura Bay opens up. The park grounds are vast and involve a long walk, so a bath to finish works especially well. Sasebo's local cuisine is another pleasure of the journey.

The Origin of the Name "Bath of Gold and Hydrogen"

The formal name of Huis Ten Bosch Onsen is "Ogon to Suiso no Yu Huis Ten Bosch Onsen" - the Bath of Gold and Hydrogen. The "gold" refers to the water itself. According to Huis Ten Bosch's announcement, the hot spring water here is transparent, but when it comes into contact with the air the iron it contains reacts and the color changes, so that it looks as though you are soaking in golden water. The spring quality is a sodium-calcium chloride spring. The natural hot spring "Koto no Yu" at the nearby Hotel Okura JR Huis Ten Bosch is also a sodium-calcium chloride spring, and its indoor bath is described as water containing iron and manganese, which suggests a character shared across the whole area.

There is something worth knowing about the other origin of the name, the "golden bath." In the renewal of April 22, 2019, a tub made of 18-karat gold with a body weight of 154.2 kilograms was certified by Guinness World Records as the "world's largest gold bathtub" and introduced as a private bath. It measured 1,500 mm in outer diameter and 550 mm deep. It was made by Hideyuki Haruyama, the second-generation Bishu of Tokyo Bishu Honpo, handcrafted over eight months. However, this golden bath closed in 2022. What you can now book privately are open-air-style family baths such as a cypress bath, a ceramic bath and a rock bath.

Knowing How the Water Is Used

The water at Koto no Yu is heated to a temperature suitable for bathing before being drawn into the tubs. It consists of an open-air bath and an indoor bath containing iron and manganese. The large bathing area at Huis Ten Bosch Onsen has five types: an open-air bath, a cypress bath, a nano bath, a jacuzzi and a sauna (with a cold-water bath). Because the water contains salt, your body stays thoroughly warm after the bath.

Enjoying the Seasons

Tulips in spring, roses and hydrangeas in early summer, autumn blooms, and grand winter illuminations bring seasonal color. After a long walk through the grounds, a hot spring is welcome in any season.

Access and Basic Information

It is close to Huis Ten Bosch Station on the JR Omura Line, so rail access is easy. You can also drive from central Sasebo or the Nagasaki direction. There are facilities with natural hot springs within and around Huis Ten Bosch, and many bay view lodgings have large baths, with some allowing day use. The water enjoyed here is a sodium chloride spring carrying salt.

Practical Information

• Spring quality: Both Huis Ten Bosch Onsen and Koto no Yu are sodium-calcium chloride springs
• Indications (Koto no Yu): Muscle pain, stiff joints, frozen shoulder, bruises, sensitivity to cold, recovery from fatigue, hemorrhoids, cuts, burns, chronic digestive illness, atopic dermatitis and more
• How the water is used: Koto no Yu is heated to a temperature suitable for bathing before being supplied
• Day-trip bathing (Huis Ten Bosch Onsen): 16:00-24:00 (last admission 23:00). On the third Wednesday of each month only, it opens from 18:00. Adults 800 yen, children (ages 4-11) 600 yen. Bathing plus the stone sauna is 2,000 yen for adults; those aged 11 and under cannot use the stone sauna, and reception closes two hours before the end of business
• Day-trip bathing (Koto no Yu): 6:00-9:30 (last admission 9:00) and 15:00-24:00 (last admission 23:30). Adults 1,600 yen, elementary school children 800 yen, free for children below elementary school age
• No park ticket needed: Huis Ten Bosch Onsen is outside the paid area and can be used without entering the park
• Open-air baths: Both have them. All of the family baths at Huis Ten Bosch Onsen come with an open-air bath
• Private baths (family baths): The "small" room with only an open-air bath is 2,700 yen per room for 60 minutes, and the "large" room, which also has an indoor bath, is 4,000 yen per room for 60 minutes (both are the general rates from October 1, 2025, including time to change). Reservations are required, and the "large" room is taken by telephone from four days before the date of use
• Tattoos: At both places the large public baths cannot be used. Huis Ten Bosch Onsen sells 10 x 15 cm tattoo stickers (400 yen) at the front desk, and where they cannot be fully covered it directs guests to the family baths. Koto no Yu does not permit them, including stickers and paint
• Children not yet out of diapers: For hygiene management, Huis Ten Bosch Onsen declines use of the large baths by those who have not finished toilet training or who wear diapers, and directs them to the family baths
• Children bathing: Children may enter the bath of the opposite sex up to age 6 (accompanied by a guardian). Those under 12 are advised to refrain from the sauna and mist sauna
• Amenities and towels: Huis Ten Bosch Onsen provides shampoo, conditioner, body soap and hairdryers (4 hairdryers for men, 9 for women; 22 showers for men, 19 for women). Towels are not included in the bathing fee, and a rental set costs 400 yen. At Koto no Yu towels are prepared at the reception, and shampoos, skincare items and hairdryers are provided
• Parking: Huis Ten Bosch Onsen has about 100 spaces (a parking ticket is issued). Bathers receive a voucher for up to 5 hours free. Large buses and camper vans cannot use it
• Access: The nearest station is Huis Ten Bosch Station on the JR Omura Line. For local buses, the nearest stop is the Saihi Bus "Huis Ten Bosch Nishimon" stop. Guests staying at hotels inside the park have a shuttle bus from in front of Hotel Europe and from Harbour Town bus stop No. 5, and presenting a room key gets a preferential rate
• Rest space: There is a tatami room where about 40 people can rest, plus table seating with sunken kotatsu
• Bringing items in: Food and drink brought in from outside, and accompanying pets, are not permitted
• Rough time needed: About an hour for bathing alone, or 2-3 hours if you include the stone sauna and a rest
• Choosing your time: Huis Ten Bosch Onsen opens at 16:00 with reception until 23:00, so you can still make it after enjoying the park until closing. Koto no Yu has a session from 6:00 in the morning, so it is easier to use before check-out or for early risers
• Address: Huis Ten Bosch Onsen is at 6-1 Huis Ten Bosch-machi, Sasebo City, Nagasaki Prefecture

Practical Travel Notes

From Huis Ten Bosch Station, hotels within and around the park lie just a few minutes on foot, so getting around by rail is easy. Some hotels with natural hot springs accept day use bathers, and since fees and hours vary by facility, confirming ahead is safest. The theme park grounds are large and involve plenty of walking, so comfortable shoes make it pleasant. To enjoy the illuminations, warming up in a bath in the early evening before the night stroll works well. The grounds are too vast to cover in a single day, so plan with time to spare.

A Quick Tip

The park is large and involves plenty of walking, so let the water ease your tired feet. If you plan to enjoy the illuminations, an evening bath to warm up before the night stroll is a good idea. Park tickets come in several types, so choosing one to match your length of stay is wise.

📚 Sources

The opening hours, bathing fees, family bath rates and reservation method, large bath facilities, conditions of use regarding tattoos and diapers, and parking were confirmed on the fees, facility guide, large bath, family bath and access pages of the official "Ogon to Suiso no Yu Huis Ten Bosch Onsen" website. The spring quality and the renewal of April 22, 2019, along with the specifications of the golden bath, follow a news release by Huis Ten Bosch Co., Ltd. The closure of the golden bath follows a report in the Nishinippon Shimbun dated August 30, 2022. The spring quality, indications, day-trip bathing hours and fees and tattoo conditions for Koto no Yu follow the natural hot spring "Koto no Yu" page on the official Hotel Okura JR Huis Ten Bosch website. Details are subject to change, so please check official sources before setting out.