Nyuto Onsen
乳頭温泉郷39°48′ N 140°47′ EOnsen town
Nyuto Onsen suits travellers who want to stay a night or two in the beech forest above Lake Tazawa and hop between old inns; it's a cluster of separate lodgings with no town around them, so plan meals at your inn.
Photo 掬茶 · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0 and others, credited in the gallery
Know before you bathe
These are working mountain inns with small baths. Wash first, keep towels out of the water, and bathe quietly around guests who came for the silence.
Getting there
Ugo Kotsu's Nyuto line bus leaves JR Tazawako Station on the Akita Shinkansen about once an hour.
Nyuto Onsen is seven inns scattered through beech forest at the foot of Mt. Nyuto in the Towada-Hachimantai National Park. Each one draws water from its own sources, and the Environment Ministry lists the area as a national health spa. The seven union members are Tsurunoyu, Taenoyu, Kaniba, Ogama, Magoroku, Kuroyu and the Kyukamura lodge.
Staying guests can buy the Yumeguri-cho pass at any member inn for ¥2,500. It covers one bath at each of the seven, and the union posts a timetable for the bus that links them. The pass is sold only to people sleeping in the village. Tsurunoyu is the oldest inn and the one most people picture, with its thatched Honjin building and four sources within 50 metres.
Take the Akita Shinkansen to Tazawako and then the hourly Nyuto line bus, which Ugo Kotsu runs from the station. Ask your inn about its pick-up point before you travel.
Worth knowing
- Buy the Yumeguri-cho pass on your first afternoon so you can use it across your stay.
- Phone Tsurunoyu with the bus you're taking if you're staying there. Its car meets guests at the Arupa Komakusa stop.
Quick answers about Nyuto Onsenよくある質問
How many inns are in Nyuto Onsen?
Seven inns belong to the Nyuto Onsen union: Tsurunoyu, Taenoyu, Kaniba, Ogama, Magoroku, Kuroyu and Kyukamura Nyuto Onsenkyo.
Can day visitors buy the Nyuto Onsen bath pass?
No. The Yumeguri-cho pass is sold only to guests staying at a member inn, for ¥2,500 (children ¥1,000).
What are the opening hours of Nyuto Onsen?
Nyuto Onsen: each inn sets its own day-bathing hours. Tsurunoyu, for one, takes day bathers from 10:00 to 15:00 and closes for them on Mondays.
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