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

Spread at the foot of the majestic Mount Yufu, Yufuin Onsen is one of the most popular hot spring towns in Japan. While it boasts one of the countrys leading numbers of springs and volumes of water, it blends a calm rural landscape with a refined townscape. Stylish cafes, workshops, and museums are dotted about, so its charm lies not only in bathing but in the stroll itself.

Highlights

Lake Kinrin, the symbol of the town, is known for the dreamlike sight of morning mist rising from its surface. The view of Mount Yufu seen from the lakeshore is picture perfect and popular with photography lovers. The Yunotsubo Kaido street leading to Lake Kinrin is lined with distinctive shops, making it fun to snack and hunt for souvenirs. Beside the lake is the public bath Shitan Yu as well.

Enjoying the Seasons

From autumn into winter, mist gathers over Lake Kinrin in the early morning, creating a magical scene. Spring brings fresh greenery and flowers, while summer offers the cool highland air, making a bath with a view of Mount Yufu truly special. The town changes its face throughout the four seasons.

Access and Basic Information

Yufuin Station on the JR Kyudai Main Line is the gateway to the town, with walking paths extending from the station front. You can reach it by limited express or bus from Beppu and Oita, and highway buses run from the Fukuoka area. By car it is about three kilometers from the Yufuin Interchange on the Oita Expressway. Exploring the town on foot is recommended.

Practical Travel Notes

The morning mist on Lake Kinrin is most likely seen in the early mornings of autumn and winter, so staying overnight and visiting first thing is recommended. The Yunotsubo Kaido bustles with tourists during the day, so an early morning or evening stroll is more comfortable if you want to avoid crowds. From the station to Lake Kinrin is about a twenty to thirty minute walk one way at a leisurely pace. Combining a town walk, a bath, and a lakeside stroll makes for a half day to full day itinerary. Since the town is popular, booking accommodation well ahead is reassuring. Budget wise, day use bathing runs from a few hundred yen into the low thousands, while inn stays vary by facility.

A Quick Tip

To see the morning mist on Lake Kinrin, it is best to rise early and visit. Since the town is popular, booking accommodation well ahead is reassuring. Enjoy the stroll in comfortable walking shoes. Roads and streets grow crowded on weekends and holidays, so allow plenty of time.

Practical Information for Your Visit

• Spring quality: Across Yufuin Onsen as a whole the waters are mainly simple hot springs and alkaline simple springs, with some chloride and bicarbonate sources as well
• Indications (Yamano Hotel Musouen): Neuralgia, muscle pain, frozen shoulder, motor paralysis, stiffness of the joints, bruises, sprains, chronic digestive complaints, hemorrhoids, sensitivity to cold, convalescence after illness, recovery from fatigue and general health promotion
• Source temperature: Musouen's Gomuso Onsen is 62.5 degrees (blended water) and Shitanyu is 69.4 degrees
• Day-use bathing (Yamano Hotel Musouen): Reception 10:00-14:00, with bathing until 14:30. 1,000 yen for adults (junior high school age and above), 700 yen for children (ages 5 to 12) and free for ages 0 to 4. On cleaning days, which are Wednesdays for the women's bath and Fridays for the men's, it is 700 yen for adults and 600 yen for children
• Day-of-the-week notes at Musouen: On Mondays the family indoor bath, on Tuesdays the family open-air bath, on Wednesdays the women-only bath and on Thursdays and Fridays the men-only bath may be unavailable. Closing days are irregular, with a few days a month when the hotel is closed
• Open-air baths: At Musouen the women-only Kukai no Yu covers more than 150 tatami mats and the men-only Gomuso no Yu about 100 tatami mats, making them among the largest in western Japan
• Private and family baths: Musouen has three family baths. There is no reservation system; you go to the door and use one if it is free
• Towels and amenities (Musouen): Body soap, shampoo and conditioner are provided. Bring your own towel or buy one in the building, with bath towels at 1,500 yen and face towels at 300 yen
• Public bathhouse Shitanyu: A thatched bathhouse on the shore of Lake Kinrin, with mixed bathing. Open 10:00-22:00 with no closing days. It is a simple structure with only a changing area and the baths, where the indoor bath and the open-air bath facing the lake sit side by side with no partition. It is located at 1585 Kawakami, Yufuin-cho, Yufu City
• Public bathhouse Yunotsubo Onsen: Bathing fee 200 yen, open 10:00-22:00 (subject to change). Both the men's and women's baths are indoor baths made of cypress. It is located at 1087-1 Kawakami, Yufuin-cho, Yufu City
• Cuarge Yufuin (Yufuin Health Hot Spring Hall): 830 yen for adults (high school students and above) and 620 yen for children (elementary and junior high school students). For the baths alone it is 520 yen for both adults and children. Open 10:00-21:00 (reception until 20:30), closed every Thursday. Parking and toilets available. It is located at 2863 Kawakami, Yufuin-cho, Yufu City
• Footing and facilities: Public bathhouses such as Shitanyu and Yunotsubo Onsen are simply built with almost nothing provided. Bringing your own towel and soap is the sure thing
• Payment: Bathing fees at the public bathhouses are only a few hundred yen, so having coins ready makes things easier
• Access: The gateway is Yufuin Station on the JR Kyudai Main Line. Shitanyu and Lake Kinrin are about a 20-minute walk from the station, and the town can be toured on foot. Yamano Hotel Musouen is at 1243 Kawaminami, Yufuin-cho, Yufu City, and has parking
• Parking: There are paid car parks around Lake Kinrin
• How long to allow: About an hour if you are just bathing, or half a day to a full day if you combine a walk around town with a stroll at Lake Kinrin
• Choosing your timing: Many inns close day-use bathing reception by midday, and even at Musouen reception ends at 14:00. Moving around in the morning gives you more choice. Yunotsubo Kaido is lively during the day, so go early in the morning or in the evening if you want a quiet walk

Information Sources

The national rankings for flow rate and number of sources, and the fees, opening hours and addresses of the public bathhouses (Yunotsubo Onsen and Cuarge Yufuin) were confirmed on the tourism and hot spring pages of the official Yufu City website. The original designation as a National Health Resort Hot Spring (May 5 of Showa 34) and the expanded designation as the Yufuin Onsen Village on October 4, 2019 also come from announcements on the official Yufu City website. The figure of about 900 sources with 38,600 liters per minute and the general character of the spring quality come from the information provided by the Yufuin Onsen Ryokan Association; the day-use bathing hours, fees, cleaning days, towel sales, family baths, spring quality, source temperature and indications for Yamano Hotel Musouen come from the day-use and hot spring pages of the hotel's official website; and the opening hours, spring quality, source temperature and address of Shitanyu come from Oita Prefecture's official tourism information website. Details are subject to change, so please check the official information before you set out.