Gero Onsen
下呂温泉35°49′ N 137°15′ EOnsen townGifu and Hida
Gero Onsen suits couples and families who want a soft, slippery alkaline bath an easy train ride from Nagoya, with about 70 places to stay along the Hida River. The trade-off is that the famous open-air pool on the river bed at Funsenchi has been closed to bathing since 1 December 2021.
Photo 663highland · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0 and others, credited in the gallery
Who should base here
Stay in Gero for a night of baths and a long ryokan dinner without a long transfer from Nagoya.
Eat in Gero Onsen
Things to do in Gero Onsen
Gero's water is an alkaline simple spring at about pH 9.1, and the slick feel it leaves on the skin is why the town calls it a beauty bath. The town pipes 12 sources into one shared supply that leaves the ground at 55.6°C and reaches the tubs at about 42°C. Writers have ranked it with Arima and Kusatsu since the monk Banri Shukyu bathed here in 1489, and the Edo-period scholar Hayashi Razan repeated the praise.
Day visitors have two public baths in the centre of town. Shirasagi-no-Yu is a white Romanesque-style bathhouse from 1926 with a cypress tub and a tatami floor for ¥470, and Kur Garden Rotenburo has rock pools beside the river for ¥800. Free foot baths line the streets, and the Yumeguri Tegata pass lets you into the baths of three member inns.
The limited express Hida reaches Gero in about 1 hour 30 minutes from Nagoya, and a reserved seat cost ¥4,700 for a November 2026 trip. Gero Station takes no IC cards such as TOICA, so buy a paper ticket for the whole journey before you board.
Worth knowing
- Bring a towel to Shirasagi-no-Yu and Kur Garden; neither rents one, though both sell them.
- Carry cash for the public baths, which take no cards.
- Funsenchi on the river bed is free to visit, and bathing there has been banned since December 2021.
Quick answers about Gero Onsenよくある質問
Can you bathe at Funsenchi in Gero?
No. Bathing at Funsenchi on the Hida River bed has been banned since 1 December 2021. It is still free to look at.
How much is a day bath in Gero?
Shirasagi-no-Yu costs ¥470 for an adult and Kur Garden Rotenburo costs ¥800 (2026). The foot baths around town are free.
Can you use an IC card at Gero Station?
No. Gero Station does not accept TOICA or other transport IC cards, so buy a ticket for the whole journey before you set out.
Is Gero Onsen a good place to stay?
Stay in Gero for a night of baths and a long ryokan dinner without a long transfer from Nagoya.
Within 12 km
Places to stay nearby宿
Within 12 km