Akakura Onsen: Day-Use Hot Spring Baths & Prices

Akakura Onsen is a highland resort hot spring set on the slopes of Mount Myoko. Its iron-rich, reddish waters warm the body to its core. Adjoining a ski area, it bustles in winter as a base for snow sports.

Highlights

The clear highland air and sweeping views of Mount Myoko are the main draws. Inns and cafes are scattered through the spa town, welcoming visitors throughout the year. There are also spots in town where you can draw spring water piped from the source, adding to the ease of a highland resort.

Enjoying the Seasons

Winter offers skiing on excellent snow, summer brings cool escapes and trekking, and autumn dazzles with the foliage of Myoko. The fresh green of spring is refreshing too, making it enjoyable year round.

Access and Basic Information

Reach it by bus or car from Myoko-Kogen Station on the Echigo Tokimeki Railway. It is also close to the Myoko-Kogen interchange on the Joshinetsu Expressway. The water is a sulfate and bicarbonate spring containing calcium, magnesium, and sodium, known as a gentle, moisturizing bath for the skin.

Practical Travel Notes

For day-trip bathing there is Taki-no-yu, an open-air bath built from great boulders. Admission is a reasonable 500 yen or so for adults, and the open pool offers free-flowing spring water. Hours and closing days change by season, so check the latest guidance before you go. Akakura is about 20 minutes by car from Myoko-Kogen Station and roughly 10 minutes from the Myoko-Kogen interchange. At this altitude, and with many day visitors, expect road and parking congestion especially during ski season.

A Quick Tip

At this altitude mornings and evenings can be chilly, so bring an extra layer even in summer. Open-air baths are more exposed to the weather, so it is most comfortable to visit when skies are fair.

Practical Information for Your Visit

• Spring quality (Akakura Onsen): Calcium, magnesium and sodium sulfate/bicarbonate spring
• Source temperature: 40 to 60 degrees Celsius
• Flow rate: More than 3,000 liters per minute (the largest in Niigata Prefecture). It is said to have a strong reputation for beautifying the skin and for healing wounds
• Day-use bathing (the open-air bath Takinoyu): The symbolic facility of Akakura Onsen. It is an open-air bath surrounded by natural rock, with no indoor bath
• Takinoyu's operating season: From late April to early November. It is closed during the winter
• Takinoyu's opening hours: 10:00-16:00 on weekdays, 10:00-17:00 on Saturdays and Sundays, and 10:00-15:30 on Thursdays
• Takinoyu's bathing fee: 600 yen for adults, 400 yen for children
• Takinoyu's address: 7-1 Akakura-kita, Myoko City, Niigata Prefecture 949-2111 (phone 0255-87-2958)
• Facilities that close in winter: In addition to Takinoyu, the footbath park and Yu to Hana no Koen also close during the winter
• The waters of Seki Onsen: A sodium chloride/bicarbonate spring. It contains iron and turns reddish brown over time. The altitude is about 900 meters
• Day-use bathing at Seki Onsen: There is no public day-use facility, so you use the drop-in bathing offered by the inns
• Access (train and bus): About 15 minutes by bus from Myoko-Kogen Station on the Echigo Tokimeki Railway Myoko Haneuma Line / Shinano Railway Kita-Shinano Line
• Access (by car): About 5 km along the prefectural road from Myoko-Kogen IC on the Joshin-etsu Expressway
• How long to allow: About an hour if you are just bathing. Takinoyu is an open-air bath and nothing more, so a shorter stay enjoying the scenery suits it better than a long soak
• What to wear and bring: This is a highland area at an altitude of 800 to 900 meters, and mornings and evenings are chilly even in summer. It is reassuring to bring an extra layer to put on
• Winter notes: Because the hot spring resort is integrated with the ski slopes, expect congestion on the roads and in the car parks during winter. The open-air bath is closed at that time of year, so if the baths are your goal in winter, the inns' own baths will be your main option

Information Sources

The spring quality, altitude and flow rate of Akakura Onsen, the references to beautifying the skin and healing wounds, and the spring quality, altitude, iron content, benefits and founding of Seki Onsen (1729, by Toyoda Godayu of Sekiyama village), as well as the origin of the name Myoko Shichi-Go-San no Yu, come from the hot spring pages of the Myoko Kogen Tourism Bureau. The operating season, opening hours, bathing fee, address and telephone number of the open-air bath Takinoyu were taken from the facility page on the official website of the Akakura Onsen Tourism Association. The circumstances of the spring's founding (the petition of 1814, the permission granted in 1815, and the start of work in 1816 along with the piping of the water to Ipponginshinden and the diversion of water from Kita-Jigokudani, and the fact that it was a domain-run hot spring), the source temperature, the winter closure of the footbath park and Yu to Hana no Koen, and access from Myoko-Kogen Station and Myoko-Kogen IC are compiled from explanatory articles about Akakura Onsen. Fees and opening hours are subject to change, so please check the official information before you set out.