Takarabune Onsen: Day-Use Hot Spring Baths & Prices

Quietly springing up on the Lake Biwa shore in Adogawa of Takashima City, Takarabune Onsen is a hidden gem of the western lakeside with its own source spring. A white sand beach spreads out before it, and you can pass quiet hours by the water.

Highlights

An iron-bearing spring, its cloudy water turns reddish brown on contact with air. Cherished as a beauty bath, it is said to ease nerve pain, anemia, and womens ailments. In the open lakeside setting, soaking in the reddish water is a special pleasure.

Enjoying the Seasons

Swimming and lakeside camping in summer, crisp clear air in autumn, and local delicacies in winter let you enjoy every season by the water. Being able to soak after playing on the beach right in front is a luxury unique to a lakeside spring.

Access and Basic Information

About five minutes by taxi from Omi-Takashima Station on the JR Kosei Line, in a quiet setting surrounded by the nature of the western lakeshore. Public transport is limited, so a car is convenient and it pairs well with a drive along the lakeside road. Day-use bathing is available, so you can soak while gazing at the lake.

Practical Travel Notes

In summer, the standard is to combine a visit with lake swimming or camping. A white sand beach spreads right in front, making it well suited to families and outdoor lovers. The surrounding western lakeshore is dotted with sights such as the metasequoia avenue and the townscape of Omi-Takashima, so it also works as a base for a drive. A bath alone takes about an hour, while adding lake swimming or camping can fill a full day. Budget around a thousand yen for a day bath. Summer weekends grow busy, so early morning is more comfortable.

A Quick Tip

In summer, pair a visit with a swim in the lake, as a soak after playing on the beach feels especially good. In the reddish cloudy water, slowly ease the tiredness of your lakeside play.

Practical Information for Your Visit

• Spring quality: A cold mineral spring containing metasilicic acid. Along with metasilicic acid the cloudy water contains iron and carbon dioxide
• Benefits: Neuralgia, skin complaints, atopic dermatitis, anemia, women's health complaints, rheumatism, bronchitis, recovery from fatigue and beautiful skin
• Day-use bathing hours: 9:00-20:00 (last reception 19:30). Reservations are not accepted
• Day-use bathing fees: 700 yen for adults, 350 yen for children (age 1 to 6th grade of elementary school) and 200 yen for babies aged 0
• Closing day: Monday
• Open-air bath: Day visitors using the separate men's and women's baths have access to the indoor bath only. The open-air bath can be used only as a private hire
• Private open-air bath: 10:00-20:00 (last reception 19:00), with priority to reservations. From 3,000 yen for 50 minutes, at 1,500 yen per person (including a hand towel to borrow) and 500 yen for elementary school students and younger. As bookings are taken from a total of 3,000 yen upward, it costs 3,000 yen even if you use it alone
• Facilities in the private open-air bath: Shampoo, conditioner and body soap are provided. There is no shower outside, so you rinse off the suds using water scooped from the bath
• Sauna: "TAKARABUNE SAUNA", an outdoor sauna for mixed use with swimwear worn. It has a barrel sauna for 10 people and a cold plunge bath, "Reisen", fed straight from the source
• Meals: The dining room is open 11:00-20:00. Even on a day visit you can try dishes made with Shiga ingredients, such as biwamasu trout hitsumabushi and Omi beef
• Location: 2248-2 Shimoogawa, Adogawa-cho, Takashima City, Shiga Prefecture (tel. 0740-32-1293)
• Access (by car): About 50 minutes from Kyoto along National Route 161 toward Imazu and Tsuruga. Turn right at the Haginohamaguchi traffic lights, follow the lakeshore for about 5 minutes, and it is just inside the Omi Shirahama swimming beach
• Access (by rail): From the Osaka direction it is about 60 minutes to Omi-Takashima Station by special rapid service on the JR Kosei Line. Changing to the Kosei Line at Kyoto Station it takes about 40-55 minutes. From JR Adogawa Station it is about 11 minutes by reservation-based shared taxi (Shirahama Line); get off at "Omi Shirahama" and walk about 5 minutes
• Parking: There are 2 covered spaces, allocated in order of arrival. On busy days you park on the campground side across the road
• Adjoining facilities: The Takarabune Onsen Family Campground facing Lake Biwa, and "STUDIO extra", a music studio attached to the accommodation
• How long to allow: About 1 hour for the bath alone. If you combine the private open-air bath with a meal, allowing half a day gives you room to relax
• To avoid the crowds: The shallow beach right in front is busy with lake swimmers in summer, so if you want peace and quiet, avoid summer weekends or come early in the morning

Places to Stop Nearby

The Kosei area is dotted with sights such as the metasequoia avenue and the townscape of Omi-Takashima, making it easy to combine with a drive along the lakeshore. The Omi Shirahama swimming beach is right in front of the inn, so in summer you can play on the beach and then soak in the hot spring.

Information Sources

The spring quality, the benefits, the day-use bathing hours and fees, the closing day, the fact that the open-air bath is available only as a private hire, the price, reception hours and facilities of the private open-air bath, the opening hours of the dining room, and the details of the sauna and adjoining facilities come from the hot spring page, the private open-air bath page and the top page of the official website of Takarabune Onsen Yumoto Kotobuki. The number of parking spaces and access by car and by JR were taken from the access page and the FAQ page of the same site. The address and the description "simple carbonated iron spring (tense hypotonic cold mineral spring)", along with access by reservation-based shared taxi from Adogawa Station, come from the facility information in the Biwako Takashima Tourism Guide. Prices and opening hours are subject to change, so please check the official information before you set out.