Access | Entrance fee : 100 yens
Bathing time 24 hours per day!
Swimsuits used for mixed-bathing
Home page (limited information in Japanese, but you also can find the pictures taken when the baths are repaired)
Phone : 09974-6-3221
Address :
鹿児島県熊毛郡屋久町平内
Maps : Google
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Number of baths | | ♂ | ♀ | ♂♀ | inside | - | - | - | outside | - | - | 3 |
Spring information | Main spring : 46°C
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| | Global rating :  | | To soak in this onsen, you will need to check in advance the tide time: at high tide, the baths are completely covered by the sea, and this onsen is only available about 2 hours around and after the low tide. Hotels and ryokan on the island will tell you when it is best to visit that onsen. The water is obviously a mixture of sulfur water with sea water, as the sulfur smell and salty taste seem to indicate.
| | Size : | | There are a couple of baths packed together at the bottom of the path. The largest are nice for 5-6 persons, while the smallest are just OK for 1. Different temperatures are available, so check first, especially as the smaller upper baths contains more spring water and are extremely hot - probably not suitable for swimming. Also, check what is in the water first: in one of the bath, we found a sea snake traped then the sea level lowered...
| View :  | | The view on the sea is stunning: large waves are often seen on the shore of Yakushima, and they brake on the rocks around the onsen at low tide. When you bath, the sea is just meters away, you can see it, hear it and smell it. If you spend enough time in the bath, you will also see the sea level raising, until eventually the baths are completely covered. The only negative point could be the regular presence of people just coming to have a look at the bath.
| | Modesty : | | There are no changing rooms, and the baths are in full view for people walking on the shore (there is also a small minshuku nearby). However, it seems acceptable to wear a swimming costume, and many soakers (and all women) seems to do so.
| | Area : | | Yakushima is a rather large island located south of Kyushu, and accessible from Kagoshima by plane, jetfoil or ferry. The island is registered on the UNESCO World Heritage List, mostly for its old forest covering the largest part of this mountainous island. Yakushima has a sub-tropical climate and enjoys relatively warm water on its shore; on the other hand, this is one of the most rainy place in Japan! Even though, most visitors enjoy walking in the forest, trekking to its summits, swimming in the sea or diving, and of course soaking in the onsen!
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