Tsurunoyu Onsen
鶴の湯温泉39°48′ N 140°47′ ERyokan¥700, about CAD 6.30 or USD 4.40 (October 2026 rates)
Tsurunoyu suits travellers who want the oldest inn at Nyuto Onsen and its four milky springs; it fills with day visitors from 10:00 to 15:00, so the quietest soak belongs to overnight guests.
Photo SpringField1967 · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0 and others, credited in the gallery
Know before you bathe
Towels stay out of every bath here, which the inn states on its English page. Wash before you get in and keep your voice down in the bath house.
Getting there
Take the Ugo Kotsu Nyuto line bus from JR Tazawako Station; it runs about once an hour. Guests call the inn with their bus time and the inn's car meets them at the Arupa Komakusa stop. Drivers turn off the prefectural road onto a 3 km forest road past the Yamanoyado annex.
Tsurunoyu is the oldest of the Nyuto inns. The second lord of the Akita domain, Satake Yoshitaka, came here to bathe in 1638, and records show the inn taking ordinary guests from the Genroku era around 1700. The thatched Honjin building housed the lord's guards and is the one on every poster. Every few decades thatchers from Jindai Umezawa re-roof it with susuki grass cut in Obonai.
Four different springs rise within 50 metres here, and the inn names them Shiro-yu, Kuro-yu, Naka-no-yu and Taki-no-yu. Day visitors pay ¥700 and bathe from 10:00 to 15:00. The inn closes the baths to them on Mondays for cleaning. Overnight guests eat yam hotpot and char grilled at the irori hearth.
The Yamanoyado annex stands a kilometre away in a new timber building made for heavy snow. Its rooms have their own toilets and baths, and a free bus takes its guests to the main baths. In winter both buildings add a heating charge to the room price.
Worth knowing
- Pay with cash, Visa or Mastercard; the inn takes no other cards.
Quick answers about Tsurunoyu Onsenよくある質問
How much is day bathing at Tsurunoyu Onsen?
¥700 for adults and ¥300 for children, from 10:00 to 15:00. Day bathing stops on Mondays.
Can I bring a towel into the bath at Tsurunoyu?
No. The inn doesn't allow towels in any of its baths.
What are the opening hours of Tsurunoyu Onsen?
Tsurunoyu Onsen keeps these hours: Tue–Sun 10:00–15:00.
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