Totsukawa Onsen

What to expect

Totsukawa is a large mountain village in the far south of Nara Prefecture, cut by the Totsukawa River on its way to the Kumano coast. It has three hot spring areas: Yasenji Onsen near the village office, Totsukawa Onsen further south in Hiratani, and Kamiyu Onsen up a side valley. This page is about Totsukawa Onsen, the busiest of the three, and the public baths day visitors use there, with notes on the other two.

Totsukawa Onsen lies beside the Futatsuno dam lake on Route 168. The village tourism site calls it the liveliest of its spring areas, with the most inns, a few shops and a supermarket. It is a working village rather than a resort town.

The village’s claim to fame is a policy. In 2004 Totsukawa declared all its baths gensen kakenagashi, and it says it was the first place in Japan to do so. Every hot spring facility in the village lets the spring water flow through and out: no recirculation or reuse, no reheating, no chlorine and no dilution. The village puts this down to the large volume of hot water it has. In practice it means even the cheapest public bath is fed straight from the ground.

The water

The village lists the three areas separately:

• Totsukawa Onsen: sodium bicarbonate and chloride spring, 158°F70°C, pH 7.9. Drinkable.
• Yasenji Onsen: alkaline simple sulfur spring, 140°F60°C, pH 9.1. The oldest in the village; legend says it was found by En no Gyoja, founder of the mountain ascetic tradition.
• Kamiyu Onsen: sulfur-bearing sodium bicarbonate spring, 185°F85°C, pH 7.7.

The Japan Tourism Agency’s sign text for Iori-no-yu gives more detail for its own supply: two sources, 140°F60.2°C at source, pH 7.5, about 867 litres a minute, piped 3.4 km (2.1 miles) to the bath and used at full strength. The same text says local lore credits a charcoal burner with finding the spring about 300 years ago. The village says the Totsukawa Onsen water keeps you warm for a long time after you get out.

The public baths

At Totsukawa Onsen:

• Iori-no-yu is the public bathhouse in Hiratani, split into men’s and women’s sides. ¥600 adults, ¥300 children. Open 8:30 to 20:00, closed Tuesdays. Outside there is a foot bath, a hand bath and a spot to drink the spring water.
• Hoshi-no-yu in the Subaru no Sato complex (inside Hotel Subaru) has indoor baths, an open-air bath, a cypress tub, a utase-yu (falling-water bath) and a bath for lying down in. ¥1,000 adults, ¥500 children. Open 12:00 to 17:00, until 15:00 over New Year, Golden Week and Obon, with no closing day.
• The hot spring pool at Subaru no Sato is a swimming pool filled with the spring water, which the village says is comfortable all year. ¥1,000 adults, ¥500 children, 9:00 to 20:00, with about a week’s closure in February and again in September. Bring a swimsuit.
• Ikora, the Hiratani community centre two minutes’ walk from the Totsukawa Onsen bus terminal, has a free foot bath and drinking fountain open every day. Local people run stalls there on a rotating basis.

Next to Subaru no Sato is the yaen, a hand-pulled cable box that once carried villagers across the river. You haul yourself across on the rope. It is free.

At Yasenji Onsen (near the village office, about 15 minutes north by bus):

• Izumi-yu: ¥600 adults, ¥300 children, 10:00 to 20:00, closed Tuesdays. Even the shower taps run hot spring water, and it has an outdoor bath by the river.
• Taki-no-yu: ¥800 adults, ¥400 children, 8:30 to 20:00, closed Thursdays. Its open-air bath looks at a waterfall.

At Kamiyu Onsen: a large riverside open-air bath on the Kamiyu River takes day visitors for ¥500 adults, ¥300 children, 9:00 to 17:00, closed Thursdays except in the summer school holidays (090-5009-9041). Kamiyu has a single inn, Kamiyuso. The village does not describe the bath’s clothing rules, so ask when you pay.

Three-bath ticket: ¥1,000 buys entry to any three of the four public baths (Iori-no-yu, Hoshi-no-yu, Izumi-yu, Taki-no-yu). Sold at each of them.

Getting there

There is no railway in Totsukawa. You come by car or by bus.

• By car: from Osaka or Nara, take the Keinawa Expressway to Gojo IC and follow Route 168 south. You cross into Totsukawa about 40 km (25 miles) after Gojo, and the road continues through the village to Yasenji and Totsukawa Onsen. Kamiyu is about 80 km (50 miles) and two hours from Gojo IC. The village recommends a car if you want to see more than one area.
• By bus: the Nara Kotsu route bus from Kintetsu Yamato-Yagi Station to JR Shingu is the longest route bus in Japan, about 6.5 hours end to end. It reaches the Totsukawa village office stop (Yasenji) in about 4 hours, with a 20-minute stop at the Tanize suspension bridge (297 m long, 54 m high), and the Totsukawa Onsen stop about 15 minutes later. From Totsukawa Onsen, a bus to the Hongu Taisha-mae stop takes about 40 minutes.

Check Route 168 conditions on the village road information page before you drive, especially after heavy rain.

When to go

The public baths are open all year, so plan around their closing days: Iori-no-yu and Izumi-yu on Tuesdays, Taki-no-yu and the Kamiyu river bath on Thursdays. Autumn colour in the gorges and cool winter days suit a hot soak best. The Kamiyu river bath opens on Thursdays only during the summer school holidays.

Rules and etiquette

• Wash before getting in. The public bathhouses follow the usual Japanese layout, with men’s and women’s sides, and you bathe naked.
• Towels stay out of the water.
• Swimsuits are needed only at the Subaru no Sato pool.
• Tattoos: the village publishes no rule. Ask at the bath or call the tourism office (0746-62-0004).
• Drink spring water only from the marked drinking spots.

Where to stay nearby

Totsukawa Onsen has a range of ryokan and minshuku, and all of them use the same free-flowing water. Yasenji has four ryokan and two minshuku, and Kamiyu one inn. The village tourism site lists them. South across the Wakayama border, the Hongu area has Yunomine Onsen with its tiny Tsuboyu bath and the winter river pool at Kawayu Onsen. The Hatenashi hamlet, one of the “100 villages of Japan”, is a classic walk in the village, about 2.5 hours for fit walkers.

Safety notes

• Mountain roads: Route 168 and the side roads are long, winding and prone to closures after heavy rain. Drive in daylight and check the road page.
• Hot water: the springs leave the ground at 140-185°F60-85°C. Test foot baths and tubs with your hand first, especially with children.
• Long bus rides: the bus ride is long and services are infrequent. Note the last bus before you get in the bath.
• Heat: soak in short spells, drink water and do not bathe after alcohol.