Nose Onsen: Day-Use Hot Spring Baths & Prices (Osaka)

At the northern tip of Osaka, set among the hills of Nose Town in Toyono District, Nose Onsen is a natural hot spring inn embraced by deep greenery. Though only about an hour by car from central Osaka, it offers quiet and a simple rural landscape, letting you forget daily life and relax. Its cuisine using seasonal ingredients is well regarded, and visitors come for both the baths and the food.

Highlights

• A calm natural hot spring wrapped in the nature of the countryside. The water is a colorless, odorless simple weak radioactive spring with a soft feel on the skin.
• Indoor and open-air baths where you soak while taking in scenery that changes with the seasons.
• Kaiseki cuisine that makes the most of local seasonal ingredients.
• Day bathing is offered, making it convenient as a stop on a drive.

Enjoying the Seasons

Nose is an area where nature remains vivid even within Osaka, with splendid cherry blossoms and fresh greenery in spring and foliage in autumn. In winter it may be dusted with snow, and on some days you can enjoy a snow-viewing bath. Visiting in different seasons for the changing food and scenery is also recommended.

Access and Basic Information

• Address: 409-81 Yamabe, Nose Town, Toyono District, Osaka
• Access: About 30 minutes by car from the direction of the Hanshin Expressway Ikeda Route. A free shuttle runs from Yamashita Station on the Nose Electric Railway (for overnight guests; day-use guests are not generally served).
• Day bathing: 11:00 to 21:00 on weekdays and 10:00 to 21:00 on weekends and holidays (last admission 20:00), closed Tuesdays (or the following day if a holiday).
• Admission: about 1,000 yen for adults and 700 yen for elementary students on weekdays, and 1,100 yen for adults and 800 yen for elementary students on weekends and holidays (subject to change; check the latest information).
• Parking available, perfect alongside a drive through the hills.

Practical Travel Notes

• Best season: spring with cherry blossoms and fresh greenery and autumn with foliage are especially beautiful, and winter with snow-viewing has its own charm.
• Avoiding crowds: midday on weekends and holidays can be busy as dining guests overlap, so weekdays or late afternoons are calmer. Note that it is closed on Tuesdays.
• Time to set aside: one to two hours for bathing alone, or about half a day for a day plan that includes a meal.
• Real nearby spots: the terraced rice fields of Nose, praised among the finest countryside in Japan, and Myokensan, a noted Tendai-sect temple, are close by, so you can combine nature and a temple visit.
• Budget sense: around 1,000-plus yen for day bathing alone, or about 3,000 to 5,000 yen for a plan with a meal.

A Quick Tip

Public transport takes a while, so coming by car is convenient. Because it is closed on Tuesdays, check the opening days before visiting. Even on a day trip, choosing a plan with a meal lets you fully savor the seasonal flavors of Nose.