Ōyu Bathhouse, Nozawa Onsen

The finest of Nozawa's thirteen free village bathhouses.

小石川人晃, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Bathing: Indoor

Nozawa Onsen's hot water is managed communally, and thirteen soto-yu bathhouses are maintained by the residents for anyone to use. Ōyu, rebuilt in traditional temple-carpentry style, is the grandest of them: a wooden hall with two hot pools and no facilities beyond a place to leave your clothes.

The water

Thermal water

Source: Nozawa Onsen springs
Mineralisation: Sulphur spring
Character: Undiluted, very hot sulphur water piped to the village soto-yu bathhouses.

Practical information

Free, with a donation box; open early until late. The water is very hot and undiluted, there is no soap or shampoo, and normal Japanese bathhouse etiquette applies — wash and rinse before entering.