Kawagoe Natural Hot Spring Yuyu Land: Hot Spring Guide

Yuyu Land, a natural hot spring to enjoy in Kawagoe, known as little Edo, is the perfect place to round off sightseeing among the old warehouse streets. Soaking slowly in the natural water rising from underground loosens a body tired from walking right to the core. With a variety of baths and saunas, it is a full facility where you can relax all day.

Highlights

Its appeal is the several baths on offer, letting you enjoy water unique to a natural hot spring to your fill. Open-air baths, saunas, and rest spaces are all in place, ideal for a break between sightseeing or a holiday refresh. Inside there is a dining area, and taking your time to savor a meal after a bath is exceptional too.

Enjoying the Seasons

Kawagoe is a town lively with festivals and events in every season, and visiting together with sightseeing makes it all the more enjoyable. The autumn Kawagoe Festival in particular is one of the Kanto region's representative festivals, with lavish floats parading through the old castle town. Spring warmth, summer coolness, autumn clear skies, and winter warmth, being able to spend all four seasons comfortably is a charm unique to a natural hot spring.

Access and Basic Information

Close to central Kawagoe, it is a location convenient by both car and public transport. The nearest stations are Kawagoe on the JR and Tobu Tojo lines and Honkawagoe on the Seibu Shinjuku Line, within reach of the warehouse streets as well. Parking is provided, and centered on day bathing it is enjoyed by many. Hours and prices can change, so checking official information before visiting is reassuring.

Practical Travel Notes

To pair it with sightseeing, first tour the warehouse streets, the Bell of Time, Candy Alley, and Kawagoe Hikawa Shrine, then round off the walk-weary afternoon or evening with the hot spring. Allow half a day for strolling the townscape and two to three hours for the bath and a meal to spend the day at ease. Budget roughly a few thousand yen with a meal added to the bathing fee. Choosing Kawagoe souvenirs like the retro sweets and sweet-potato treats of Candy Alley is one of the pleasures too.

A Quick Tip

Dropping by after enjoying sights such as the warehouse streets or Candy Alley lets you round off a day in Kawagoe pleasantly. Soothing your walking fatigue thoroughly before heading home is recommended.

Practical Information for Your Visit

• Opening hours: Open all year round, from 9:00 in the morning to 24:00 (last admission 23:00)
• Fees (3-hour bath course): 950 yen for adults, 500 yen for children. A face towel is included; watching a theater performance is not
• Fees (standard admission): 2,100 yen for adults, 1,050 yen for children. This includes a yukata, a bath towel and a face towel, with check-out at 10:00 the following morning. Members of the annual-membership "Tomo no Kai" club pay 1,700 yen for adults and 850 yen for children
• Student discount: The 3-hour course costs 650 yen (you must show a student ID)
• Late-night surcharge: An additional 1,350 yen is charged if you stay beyond 2:00 in the morning
• Discount days: Every Saturday is Family Day, when children of elementary school age and under enter free of charge, and every Thursday is Silver Day for visitors aged 65 and over (2,100 yen including a meal)
• Amenities: Rinse-in shampoo and body soap are provided free of charge. Soap, exfoliating cloths and brushes are also on hand, so you can turn up empty-handed. Razors and toothbrushes are charged for
• Type of water: A komeiseki natural mineral-stone bath. It is not a natural hot spring welling up from a source
• Baths: Carbonated bath (cypress bath), high-power jet bath, event bath, radium bath, tub baths, cold-water bath, sauna and body scrub. No open-air bath is listed in the official guide
• Access (by train): About 5 minutes on foot from Hon-Kawagoe Station on the Seibu Shinjuku Line, about 10 minutes on foot from Kawagoeshi Station on the Tobu Tojo Line, and about 15 minutes on foot from Kawagoe Station on the JR and Tobu Tojo lines
• Access (by car): 21.2 km on the Kan-Etsu Expressway from the Nerima IC to the Kawagoe IC. There is a multi-storey car park behind the building
• Parking: Free of charge for up to 3 hours; beyond 3 hours it costs 550 yen for the day. The multi-storey car park is closed from 22:00 until 7:00 the next morning, so you cannot use it to sleep in your car or take your car out late at night
• Time needed: About 1 hour simply to work your way around the baths. Allow 2-3 hours with a rest and a meal, or half a day if you also watch a performance
• In wet weather: The entire facility is indoors, so the weather makes no difference. It also works well as a fallback when rain washes out a walk around Kawagoe
• Underfoot and steps: This is a multi-storey building, with the baths, the theater and the dining areas spread across different floors. You move between them by elevator
• Toilets: Located throughout the building
• Avoiding the crowds: Weekends and the times around the 13:00 afternoon and 18:00 evening performances are busy. If you want a quiet soak, weekday mornings are your best bet
• Budget guide: Around 1,000 yen for a bath alone, or about 2,000-3,000 yen once you add a meal and a reserved seat
• Address: 1-9-1 Shintomicho, Kawagoe City, Saitama Prefecture (tel. 049-226-2641)

How to Combine It with Sightseeing in Kawagoe

Standing 5 minutes' walk from Hon-Kawagoe Station, the bathhouse sits at the exit of the classic route around the kurazukuri warehouse townscape, the Toki no Kane bell tower, Kashiya Yokocho candy alley and Kawagoe Hikawa Shrine. The most natural plan is to walk the old streets from the morning through the early afternoon, then slip into the 3-hour course in the evening on tired feet. Alternatively, if you intend to stay for the evening theater performance, you can pay the standard admission and take things easy until 10:00 the next morning. Much of the sweet-potato confectionery and old-fashioned candy from Kashiya Yokocho keeps well, making it an affordable souvenir to carry home after your bath.

Information Sources

The opening hours, the price plans (the 3-hour bath course, standard admission, the student discount, the late-night surcharge, Silver Day and Family Day) and the amenities provided are as stated on the "Price Guide" page of the official website of Kawagoe Onsen Yuyu Land Hotel Sanko. The komeiseki natural mineral-stone water, the line-up of baths and the free loan of towels and yukata come from the "Baths" page of the same site; the start times of the popular theater and song shows, the seat reservation charge and the capacity of the Koedo-za theater come from the "Theater and Song Shows" page; the address and telephone number come from the "Company Profile" page; and the walking times from the stations, the distance along the Kan-Etsu Expressway, the parking charges and the hours when the multi-storey car park is closed were checked on the "Access" page. Prices, opening hours and the content of the performances are subject to change, so please check the official information before you set out.