Amagase Onsen: Day-Use Hot Spring Baths & Prices (Oita)

Rising along the Kusu River in Hita City, Amagase Onsen is a valley hot spring known for the open air baths dotting the riverbank. Cherished as one of Kyushus older springs, it is characterized by the soft feel of its sulfur water. It is a fine spring where you can bathe close to the murmuring river and feel at one with nature.

Highlights

Communal open air baths, managed by local neighborhood associations, are scattered across the riverbed of the Kusu River, where you can soak while gazing at the valley scenery. Five are well known, including Ekimae Onsen, Yakushiyu, Kandayu, Masujiro Onsen, and Tsurumai no Yu, and all lie within a fifteen minute walk of JR Amagase Station. Inns line the hot spring town, and a stroll along the river is also enjoyable.

Enjoying the Seasons

Spring greenery and autumn foliage coloring the valley can be enjoyed from the open air baths. In summer the river breeze brings coolness, making an open bath feel refreshing. In winter the riverside scene with rising steam is deeply evocative, letting you savor the faces of nature through every season.

Access and Basic Information

The hot spring town spreads right by Amagase Station on the JR Kyudai Main Line, where the sightseeing train Yufuin no Mori also stops. Inns and open air baths dot the riverside, and access from central Hita and the Yufuin area is convenient. By car it is about fifteen minutes from the Amagase Takatsuka Interchange on the Oita Expressway, along National Route 210. Nearby parking is available.

Practical Travel Notes

The communal riverside baths follow a simple style, using an honor box where you drop in one hundred yen. Towels and soap are not provided, so bring your own. To avoid crowds, the morning hours are recommended, when you can have the quiet scene of mist rising over the river almost to yourself. Allow about two to three hours for a stroll through the hot spring town and a bath. After enjoying the scent of the sulfur springs, the location pairs well with a walk through the Mameda district of Hita or a trip toward Yufuin. Budget wise, a communal bath runs a few hundred yen, while day use bathing at an inn is around one thousand yen.

A Quick Tip

The riverbed open air baths often have an open design, so check the bathing customs and manners before using them. During high water they may be closed, so pay attention to the weather as well. Since the sulfur water is somewhat strong, those concerned about their skin can rinse quickly with fresh water afterward.

Practical Information for Your Visit

• Spring quality: A simple sulfur spring. It is characterized by a faint scent of sulfur and flakes of yunohana mineral deposits, and the official tourism website of Oita Prefecture cites the moisturizing action of metasilicic acid, the promotion of blood circulation, relief from sensitivity to cold, and an effect that leaves the skin smooth
• How the water is used: The riverside baths are free-flowing straight from the source. The source temperature is high and some tubs are adjusted by adding water, but even then they are often hot, so check the temperature with your hand before getting in
• Using the riverside baths: Kandayu is open from 9:00 to 23:00 (cleaned every Sunday) and Yakushiyu from 8:00 to 22:00; at both you place 100 yen in the fee box provided. Ekimae Onsen closed permanently on November 30, 2024
• For a more relaxed soak: At Bara no Yu the semi-open-air large bath costs 400 yen (junior high school age and above) and there are three private baths at 2,500 yen per hour. It is open from 12:00 to 21:00, closed on the first and third Tuesdays, at 27-5 Akaiwa, Amagase-machi, Hita City (0973-57-8016). Tsukada Onsen Center charges 200 yen for bathing, is open from 13:00 to 20:30, closed on the first Monday of each month, at 898-1 Tsukada, Amagase-machi, Hita City
• Day-use bathing at the inns: Amagase Onsen Seitenkaku is open from 13:00 to 18:00 (reception until 17:30) at 700 yen for adults and 350 yen for children up to elementary school age, with 30 parking spaces. Sanso Tensui charges 800 yen for adults and 500 yen for elementary school age and above, with a family bath at 2,500 yen per room for 45 minutes. Seoto Yuoto no Yado Ukiha charges 800 yen for adults and 500 yen for children, and at Ukiha Bekkan Shinshiyo a private open-air bath costs 2,200 yen
• Hot spring passport: If you plan to go from one day-use bath to another, you can use the Onsen Passport offered by the Amagase branch of the Hita City Tourism Association
• Amenities: The riverside baths have no shampoo, body soap or hairdryer. Bring your own towel, soap and change of clothes. If you use drop-in bathing at an inn, check in advance whether towels are provided
• Footing and steps: Reaching the riverside baths involves going down steps to the riverbed and walking over wet rocks. Wear shoes with a good grip
• Strollers and wheelchairs: Because you have to go down steps, the riverside baths cannot be reached with a stroller or wheelchair. If you want a bathhouse with fewer steps, Bara no Yu or the drop-in baths at the inns are a better choice
• Payment: The riverside baths are cash only, with coins placed in a fee box. It is reassuring to have 100-yen coins ready
• Access: From Amagase Station on the JR Kyudai Main Line it is about a 5-minute walk to Kandayu and about an 8-minute walk to Yakushiyu. By car it is about 20 minutes from the Hita Interchange on the Oita Expressway
• How long to allow and crowds: Around 30 minutes to an hour for the riverside baths alone, or two to three hours if you combine day-use facilities with a stroll around the hot spring town. The riverside baths are small, and use by local residents increases from early evening into the night
• Winter roads: As this is a mountain area, road surfaces can freeze in winter. Be prepared with the right tires when there is snow
• Enquiries: Amagase Tourist Information Office (inside JR Amagase Station, 0973-57-2166) and the Hita City Tourism Association (11-3 Motomachi, Hita City, 0973-22-2036, 9:00 to 17:00)
• Places to stop by as well: Sakura Falls, Jion Falls, the Mameda-machi district of Hita, and Hita Onsen

Information Sources

The opening hours and bathing fees of the riverside baths, the arrangements for mixed bathing and bathing garments, and the Amagase branch of the Hita City Tourism Association's call to check the water temperature were confirmed in the facility information on hot spring information sites, and the closing date of Ekimae Onsen was confirmed from listings on several hot spring information sites. The fees and opening hours of Bara no Yu and Tsukada Onsen Center, the day-use bathing fees of each inn, and the reopening dates after the torrential rain were confirmed on the official website of the Hita City Tourism Association, while the spring quality of Seitenkaku and its day-use bathing hours, fees and number of parking spaces were confirmed on the official tourism website of Oita Prefecture. The Onsen Passport and the contact details of the tourist information offices come from the official website of the Amagase branch of the Hita City Tourism Association. Opening hours, fees and closing days are subject to change, so please check the official information before you set out.