Higashiyama Onsen

What to expect

Higashiyama Onsen is the hot spring town of Aizu-Wakamatsu, the old castle town of western Fukushima. It lies in a narrow wooded valley on the Yukawa (also called the Hagurogawa) just southeast of the city, so you get a river-and-forest setting while staying close to Tsuruga Castle and the samurai sights. There are several other places in Japan called Higashiyama Onsen, including ones in Hokkaido and Gifu; this page is about the one in Aizu.

The town’s own story is long. Local tradition says the monk Gyoki found the spring about 1,300 years ago, led there by a three-legged crow, and the town dates its opening to the Tenpyo era in the 8th century. In the Edo period it became the bathing retreat of the Aizu domain, a kind of back parlour for the castle town. The spring turns up in the Aizu folk song about Ohara Shosuke, and the painter Takehisa Yumeji and the poet Yosano Akiko both spent time here.

Today about a dozen inns and hotels line the river, from small traditional ryokan to large modern hotels, with restaurants and souvenir shops between them. The tourism association lists 13 lodgings. The water is a sulfate spring (calcium and sodium sulfate with chloride), between 122-140°F50 and 60°C at the source, flowing at about 1,500 litres a minute in total.

There is no big public bathhouse. You bathe either at the inn where you stay or as a day guest at one of the inns that open their baths to visitors.

Day bathing

The tourism association’s 2026 list of inns that take day bathers:

• Irori no Yado Ashina: 18:00-20:30, ¥1,000. Private baths from ¥2,200 per person, booking required.
• Onyado Toho: 13:30-16:00 (last entry 15:00), adults ¥1,400 (¥1,800 weekends and holidays), children ¥700 (¥1,000).
• Shosuke no Yado Takinoyu: Saturdays, Sundays and holidays only, 13:00-15:00, adults ¥1,200, children ¥600. Its baths look out on Fushimi Falls.
• Niko Ryokan: adults ¥700, children free; call for hours.
• Higashiyama Grand Hotel (Ooedo Onsen Monogatari): 7:00-10:00 and 15:00-24:00 (last entry 22:00), adults ¥1,000 (¥1,250 weekends and holidays), children ¥500 (¥600).
• Harataki: 13:00-20:00, adults ¥1,080, children ¥540; call ahead before holidays.
• Hotel Fushimiso: 16:00-20:00, adults ¥700, children ¥400.

The association says day-bathing hours change from day to day and can be cancelled without notice, so phone the inn before you go. Bring your own towel unless the inn says it supplies one.

Getting there

By train: JR Aizu-Wakamatsu Station is on the Ban-etsu West Line. The usual route from Tokyo is the Tohoku Shinkansen to Koriyama, then the Ban-etsu West Line.

By bus: The city’s two loop buses, Haikara-san and Akabe, run from Aizu-Wakamatsu Station past the Aizu Bukeyashiki samurai house to Higashiyama Onsen Station, the bus stop at the entrance to the town. Each runs about every 30 minutes, Haikara-san from 8:00 to 17:30 and Akabe from 9:15 to 16:15, in opposite directions. The fare is ¥210 for adults and ¥110 for children, and a one-day pass for both buses is ¥600 (children ¥300). Allow 35-40 minutes.

By car: The town is about 10 minutes from central Aizu-Wakamatsu. Tsuruga Castle is about 10 minutes away, Aizu Bukeyashiki about 5 minutes and Iimoriyama about 15 minutes.

When to go

Higashiyama is open all year and works as a base for Aizu sightseeing in any season. Aizu gets real snow in winter, so check road and bus conditions if you visit then, and book early for autumn and holiday weekends.

Two summer events are worth planning around. On August 10, the Oyu-kake festival sends young men and geisha through the town splashing hot spring water on the crowd, while geisha on a portable shrine throw good-luck coins. During Obon, the Higashiyama Bon dance brings all the geisha out in yukata to dance to the Aizu Bandaisan song.

Geisha

Geisha still work in Higashiyama. They perform at inn banquets: dancers (tachikata) and musicians (jikata) on shamisen, voice and drums. Their repertoire includes dances on the Byakkotai story of the young Aizu samurai. You do not book through the inn; book through the Higashiyama Onsen geisha cooperative (0242-27-8351, 12:00-15:30, closed Sundays). Prices are posted only as images on the association’s site, so ask when you call.

Onsen etiquette

Wash and rinse your whole body before you get in, and do not wear clothes or a swimsuit in the bath. Keep your small towel out of the water. A national tourism text on Higashiyama warns that some baths refuse people with tattoos, while others let you cover a small one with a plaster or book a private bath; ask the inn first. Keep your voice down in the shared baths and in the street at night.

Nearby stops worth adding

• The waterfalls: the Yukawa forms four waterfalls in town, including Fushimi Falls. The city tourism site puts them about a 15-minute walk from Higashiyama Onsen Station.
• Haguro-san Yugami Shrine: about a 20-minute walk from Higashiyama Onsen Station, at the top of an approach of 1,225 steps, a popular climb for the first shrine visit of the New Year.
• Aizu-Wakamatsu: Tsuruga Castle, Aizu Bukeyashiki and Iimoriyama are all within about 15 minutes by car.

Where to stay nearby

The inns in town are the base. The association lists Irori no Yado Ashina, Onyado Toho, Konjakutei, Shosuke no Yado Takinoyu, Tsuki no Akari, Niko Ryokan, Higashiyama Grand Hotel, Higashiyama Park Hotel Shinfugetsu, Harataki, Hotel Fushimiso, Mukaitaki, Motoyu Arimaya and YUKKURA Inn. Its booking page and phone line (0242-27-7051) help with vacancies. For chain hotels, stay near Aizu-Wakamatsu Station and ride the loop bus out.

Safety notes

• Hot water: the source runs at 122-140°F50-60°C, far too hot to bathe in straight from the ground. Test each bath and keep soaks short.
• Stairs and paths: the shrine steps and riverside paths are steep and slippery when wet or icy.
• Bus times: the loop buses stop running in the late afternoon, so plan a taxi if you bathe in the evening and are not staying.