Matsukawa Onsen sits at 875 m in Hachimantai, Iwate, surrounded by the primeval beech and oak forest of Towada-Hachimantai National Park. We welcome day-use bathers to our milky-white sulfur spring, flowing straight from the source.
We close on irregular days through the year. Please check here before you set out.
The water is completely clear the moment it leaves the source. It begins to cloud the instant it falls into the bath and meets the air, and what collects in the open-air bath is a milky white with a faint tinge of green.
The water is never recirculated, so what overflows simply runs over the rim and away. Look up and you can see a small geothermal power station through the trees — that is how much heat lies under the floor of this valley.
8:30 AM – 7:00 PM (last entry 6:00 PM). Admission is ¥700 for adults and ¥350 for children (age 5 through elementary school).
We close on irregular days throughout the year. Please check the closure calendar on this page before you visit.
It lets you relax in our banquet hall from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM. The price is ¥900 for adults and ¥500 for children (age 5 through elementary school), onsen admission included.
There are two open-air baths: one mixed-gender and one women-only. The indoor baths are separated into men’s and women’s, so women can use both the indoor bath and the women-only open-air bath.
There are no showers — the sulfur content of the spring is strong enough that boiler equipment cannot be installed here. Instead, a wooden trough is kept filled with hot spring water; please scoop from it to rinse yourself off.
Yes. Rinse-in shampoo, body soap and bar soap are provided in the bathing area.
Yes. Face towels are sold for ¥300 and bath towels can be rented for ¥200.
Yes. We are open as usual in winter apart from our closure days. From November to April there is snow on the approach road, so studless snow tires and a 4WD vehicle are required.
Yes, free parking is available. From November to April, studless snow tires and a 4WD vehicle are required due to snow.
Yes. Take the Iwate Kenpoku bus bound for “Matsukawa Onsen” from JR Morioka Station (about 110 minutes); the Matsukawa Onsen bus stop is on our grounds. Buses leave from stop 3 at the station’s east exit only twice a day (12:12 and 13:42), so please check the timetable in advance.
Yes. Guests with tattoos are welcome to bathe as they are. There is no need to cover them with stickers or patches.
If the bath suits you, consider staying over. Overnight guests can bathe around the clock — the water at night and at dawn has a quiet to it that the daytime does not.