Tokko-no-yu
独鈷の湯34°58′ N 138°56′ EWildGuests only
Tokko-no-yu suits anyone who wants to see the spring Shuzenji grew from, and you can only look at it, since bathing and foot-soaking are both banned.
Photo Batholith · Wikimedia Commons · Public domain and others, credited in the gallery
Know before you bathe
Look from the bank or the bridge and keep off the rocks around the pavilion.
Getting there
Tokko-no-yu sits in the Katsura River in the middle of Shuzenji Onsen, below Shuzen-ji temple and at the foot of the Bamboo Grove Path.
Tokko-no-yu is the small pavilion over a spring in the middle of the Katsura River, and the town treats it as the place Shuzenji Onsen began. The legend says Kukai saw a boy washing his sick father in the cold river, struck the rock with his tokko, a Buddhist ritual tool, and brought up hot water. The tourism association now says the spring is not a licensed bath, so you may not bathe in it or dip your feet.
For a soak, walk a few steps to Kawara-yu, a free foot bath for six in the pocket park in front of Tokko-no-yu. The River Terrace Sugi-no-yu, a little upstream, seats ten at tables, and the Bamboo Grove Path starts beside it. Some older guides and Japanese Wikipedia still describe Tokko-no-yu itself as a free foot bath, which the official page now contradicts.
Worth knowing
- Come after dark, when the Bamboo Grove Path and the river are lit and the day-trippers have gone.
Quick answers about Tokko-no-yuよくある質問
Can you put your feet in Tokko-no-yu?
No. The Shuzenji tourism association says Tokko-no-yu cannot be used for bathing or as a foot bath. The free Kawara-yu foot bath sits right in front of it.
Can you visit Tokko-no-yu without staying the night?
No. The baths at Tokko-no-yu are for staying guests only.
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