Yunogo Onsen: Day-Use Hot Spring Baths & Prices
Rising along the Yoshino River in Mimasaka City, Yunogo Onsen is said to have been discovered about twelve centuries ago when the monk Ennin saw a white heron healing a wound on its leg. From this legend it earned the name Heron Bath and is counted among the three great hot springs of old Mimasaka. With good access from the Osaka area, it draws many for both cures and sightseeing.
Highlights
The clear, colorless water is a sodium-calcium chloride spring, cherished as a skin-friendly bath that warms the body to the core. A free foot bath and the easy day-use bathhouse Yunogo Sagi Onsenkan make the town a fine base for bath hopping. Museums and other attractions are scattered through the streets, making for a pleasant walk as well.
Enjoying the Seasons
Cherry blossoms, fresh greenery, and autumn colors along the Yoshino River delight the eye through the year. Soaking in the foot bath while listening to the murmur of the river is a pleasant moment in any season.
Access and Basic Information
Located in Yunogo, Mimasaka City, Okayama. It is a short drive from the Mimasaka interchange on the Chugoku Expressway, with good access from the Osaka area. Day-use facilities and inns cluster together in a walkable town.
A Quick Tip
The foot bath is easy to drop by, so take a break during your stroll. Keeping a towel handy is convenient.
Practical Travel Notes
- Spring quality: A sodium-calcium chloride spring. Said to help with nerve pain, rheumatism, sensitivity to cold, and skin troubles, it is a chloride water that warms the body well.
- Day-use bathing: Yunogo Sagi Onsenkan is a guide 960 yen for adults and 500 yen for children, with hours roughly from 8:00 to 21:00 and closed on the second Wednesday. It also has open-air and private baths.
- Foot bath: The town has a free foot bath, easy to drop by during a stroll (the foot-bath facility runs roughly from 10:00 into the evening).
- Access: A short drive from the Mimasaka interchange on the Chugoku Expressway, and about 6 to 8 minutes by bus from Hayashino Station on the JR Kishin Line.
- Fees, hours, and closing days may change, so please check the latest information before visiting.
Practical Information for Your Visit
- Spring quality: A very weakly alkaline sodium-calcium chloride spring containing nitrogen gas. Its indications include digestive disorders, neuralgia, rheumatism, anaemia, women's complaints and skin conditions
- Source temperature and flow rate: Roughly 40 to 43 degrees, about 450 litres per minute
- Day-use bathing (Yunogo Sagi Onsen-kan Main Building): 8:00-21:00 (last admission 20:20)
- Bathing fee: 960 yen for adults, 500 yen for children (age 3 to elementary school age), 860 yen for those aged 75 and over. These are the prices revised on August 1, 2026, raised from the previous adult price of 800 yen
- All-day rest plan: 9:00-19:00 (last admission 17:00), 2,400 yen for adults and 1,500 yen for children. It includes indoor wear and a towel, and you can also use the adjoining "Ryoyo-yu". Shorter use is also possible
- Family bath: 9:00-21:00 (last admission 19:45), one hour per use. 4,800 yen for up to 3 people, or 5,800 yen for the special room with an open-air bath. Up to three bath towels are included, and there is no extra charge for elementary school children and younger
- Ryoyo-yu fees: One bath 960 yen for adults, 500 yen for children (age 0 to elementary school age), 760 yen for adults presenting a disability certificate
- Sauna: In the main building
- Books of tickets and discounts: A book of 10 tickets costs 8,000 yen. Group discounts for parties of 15 or more and a JAF discount are available
- Closed: The second Wednesday of the month (the following day when it falls on a public holiday; in August only, the first Wednesday)
- Tattoos: Visitors with tattoos, including fashion tattoos, are not permitted to bathe
- Provided items: Rinse-in shampoo and body soap in the bathing area, and hairdryers, combs and brushes in the changing room. Face towels are sold for 250 yen and bath towels rented for 150 yen. The shop sells razors for 100 yen and toothbrushes for 60 yen
- Parking: 150 spaces for ordinary cars and 3 for large vehicles
- Access: About 10 minutes by bus bound for Shindo Hozaki from Hayashino Station on the JR Kishin Line, get off at "Yunogo Onsen-shita" and walk about 3 minutes. By car, take the Mimasaka IC on the Chugoku Expressway
- Footbath: Yunogo Pocket Park Fureai no Yu. It is free and open to all
- Time needed: About one hour if you only take a bath. If you use the all-day rest plan or a family bath, allow half a day to be comfortable
- Location: 595-1 Yunogo, Mimasaka City, Okayama Prefecture (Yunogo Sagi Onsen-kan)
Information Sources
The bathing fees, opening hours, family baths, all-day rest plan, tattoo policy, handling of towels and amenities, and books of tickets were checked on the "Fees" page of the official Yunogo Sagi Onsen-kan website and in the notice of the price revision posted on the same site. The closed days, number of parking spaces, access by bus and the address come from the facility page on "Okayama Tourism WEB" by the Okayama Prefecture Tourism Federation; the spring quality, source temperature, flow rate and benefits come from the hot spring introduction page on the official Mimasaka City website; and the legend of the spring's discovery and the footbath come from the official website of the Yunogo Onsen Ryokan Cooperative Association. Details are subject to change, so please check the official information before you set out.
๐ Location & Access
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โ๏ธ About this article
This article is compiled by the Tabitabi JAPAN editorial team from official and primary sources, including facility and shrine/temple websites, tourism information published by municipalities and tourism associations, and cultural-property records released by national and local governments. Prices, opening hours and event dates may change, so please also check the official information of each facility or local government before you visit.