Kitsuregawa Onsen: Day-Use Hot Spring Baths & Prices

This hot spring rises in the Kitsuregawa district of Sakura City and is sometimes counted among Japan three finest beautifying waters. Although it is a relatively new spring, drilled near the end of the Showa era, the quality of its water has made it popular with many people. Its silky, slippery touch draws visitors in.

Highlights

The sodium-bearing water has a smooth, slippery feel, and is praised for leaving the skin moist and soft after bathing. The town has well-kept public bathhouses where you can enjoy this fine spring at a reasonable price. Strolling the streets of Kitsuregawa, which retains its history as a castle town, alongside a round of bathing, is also a pleasure.

Enjoying the Seasons

True to Sakura City, dotted with cherry blossom spots, spring lets you bathe while admiring the flowers. In summer the surrounding hills grow lush and green, and in autumn the trees take on color. In winter, water that warms you to the core feels especially welcome to a chilled body.

Access and Basic Information

It is convenient to come by bus or taxi from JR Ujiie Station, and by car take the Yaita or Utsunomiya-Kaminokawa interchange on the Tohoku Expressway and follow the national route. There are several public day-use facilities, such as the municipal Motoyu Onsen, making casual visits easy. Motoyu Onsen has two baths, a high-temperature pool and a low-temperature pool, along with large windows framing the mountains and an open-air bath.

Practical Travel Notes

The appeal of Kitsuregawa is being able to sample its beautifying water at reasonable prices, centered on the public bathhouses. Fees at the municipal day-use facilities start from a few hundred yen and are easy to approach, and some are open from morning until night, making them easy to fit into a trip. Some facilities set a regular closing day, so it is reassuring to check before visiting. The sodium-bearing, slippery water leaves a moist feeling after bathing, so it is best to pat yourself dry gently rather than scrubbing the skin. Combined with the streets that still recall a castle town and the seasonal cherry blossoms, it makes for a relaxed half-day outing. Public bathhouses may not lend towels, so bringing your own is reassuring.

A Quick Tip

To make the most of this beautifying water, the trick is not to scrub your skin too hard after bathing. Public bathhouses may not lend towels, so bringing your own is reassuring. The slippery water can make footing slick, so move slowly inside the bathing area.

Practical Information for Your Visit

• Spring quality: Sodium chloride spring (weakly alkaline, high-temperature). It contains sulphur, salt and iron
• Main benefits: Muscle and joint pain, sensitivity to cold, weakened digestion, mild hypertension, recovery from fatigue and more
• Source temperature: The source feeding the municipal open-air bath is over 51 degrees. In the roofed bathing pool it settles to around 43 degrees for bathing
• How the water is used: The municipal open-air bath is free-flowing straight from the source
• Opening hours of the municipal Motoyu Onsen: 7:00 to 21:00 (last admission 20:00)
• Closing days of the municipal Motoyu Onsen: The first Monday of each month (the following day when it falls on a public holiday)
• Fees at the municipal Motoyu Onsen: 500 yen for junior high school age and above (400 yen after 17:00), 300 yen for elementary school children (200 yen after 17:00), free of charge for pre-school children
• Address and telephone of the municipal Motoyu Onsen: 6620-1 Kitsuregawa, Sakura City / 028-686-3284
• Parking at the municipal Motoyu Onsen: 100 spaces for ordinary cars
• Opening hours of the municipal open-air bath: 9:00 to 21:00 (last admission 20:00)
• Closing days of the municipal open-air bath: The third Monday of each month
• Fees at the municipal open-air bath: 400 yen for junior high school age and above, 200 yen for elementary school children, free of charge for infants
• Address and telephone of the municipal open-air bath: 871-1 Kitsuregawa, Sakura City / 028-686-5047
• Facilities at the municipal open-air bath: A roofed rock bath that can hold about 50 bathers at a time. There is no rest room
• Open-air baths: Both Motoyu Onsen and the municipal open-air bath have them
• Getting there (train and bus): About 25 minutes by onsen bus from Ujiie Station on the JR Utsunomiya Line
• Getting there (by car): About 20 minutes from the Yaita IC on the Tohoku Expressway
• How long to allow: About 1 hour for a bath alone, or half a day if you include a rest and a stroll around town
• Avoiding the crowds: Motoyu Onsen is relatively quiet around 7 a.m. Evenings draw more local bathers because of the discounted rate
• Watch your footing: The water is slippery and the bathroom floor can be treacherous. Move slowly
• Nearby closure: Kitsuregawa Saotome Onsen is closed for the time being due to a failure of its hot spring pump

Sources of This Information

The opening hours, closing days, bathing fees, addresses and telephone numbers of the municipal Motoyu Onsen and the municipal open-air bath were confirmed on the facility pages of the Sakura City official website. The number of parking spaces and access details (the onsen bus from Ujiie Station and the Yaita IC) come from the facility information on Tochigi Tabi Net (Tochigi Prefecture Tourism and Local Products Association). The spring quality, benefits, source temperature and free-flowing supply, along with the account of how the source was developed in 1981, are based on the Kitsuregawa Onsen and municipal open-air bath pages of Sakura City Kanko Navi and its explanation of Kitsuregawa Onsen. The closure of Kitsuregawa Saotome Onsen was confirmed in a notice posted by Sakura City Kanko Navi on April 17, 2025, and on the facility's own page. Opening hours, prices and closing days may change, so please check official sources before you set out.