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Best hot springs destinations in Asia

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Hakone
Onsen town with Fuji views and lake cruises
8.6
Autumn leaves turn red in November. Cold dry days give clear views of Mount Fuji from outdoor baths. At Owakudani, a steaming volcanic valley, eggs are boiled in the hot springs until the shells turn black. Eating one is said to add seven years to your life.
Highlights:
  • 🚠 Take a scenic ride on the Hakone Ropeway
  • 🖼️ Explore stunning sculptures at Hakone Open-Air Museum
  • ♨️ Soak in relaxing waters of Hakone Onsen hot springs
Beppu
Steaming hot springs and colorful Hells
8.1
The Eight Hells of Beppu are hot springs for looking at, not bathing in. Blood red ponds, steaming blue pools and bubbling gray mud send up thick vapor. For a soak, head to the sand baths where attendants bury visitors in warm black sand. Steam rises from street vents all over town.
Highlights:
  • 🏖️ Try a traditional sand bath at Beppu Beach Sand Bath
  • 🌋 Watch the spectacular steam vents rise at Umi Jigoku
  • ♨️ Bathe in the famous Beppu hot springs known as “onsen hells”
Oita
Monkeys, hot springs and Otomo history
7.9
On the northeast coast of Kyushu, this prefecture has more hot spring sources than any other in Japan. Beppu and Yufuin are the main draws. Quiet Amagase Onsen near Hita has riverside baths beside old wooden inns. Hot spring steam rises from drains on city streets.
Highlights:
  • 🎨 Stroll the charming streets of Yufuin and visit its art galleries
  • 🌋 Explore the surreal steaming pools on the Beppu Hells tour
  • ♨️ Relax in Beppu’s famous and therapeutic hot springs
Kusatsu-Onsen
Steaming hot water field and bath hopping
8.1
Several times a day, women in traditional clothes stir the hot water with long boards. This show, called yumomi, cools the water without watering it down. The town center is the Yubatake, a steaming field of wooden channels. The water is strongly acidic and smells of sulfur.
Highlights:
  • 🌿 Relax in open-air baths at Sainokawara Park
  • 🎍 Watch a traditional Yumomi hot water cooling show
  • ♨️ Admire the steaming Yubatake hot spring field in the center of town
Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park
Fuji, Hakone, Izu and volcanic islands
8.8
The smell of sulfur and the sight of Mount Fuji go together in this park. Hot springs dot the Hakone hills and the Izu coast. Many traditional inns called ryokan have outdoor baths with views of the peak. Cold mornings make the steam rise higher and thicker.
Highlights:
  • 🥚 Explore volcanic vents and black eggs at Owakudani
  • ♨️ Relax in Hakone’s renowned hot spring baths
  • 🗻 Climb iconic Mount Fuji for sunrise views
Kyushu
Volcanoes, onsen and tonkotsu ramen
8.4
Kitchens in Kyushu use hot spring steam like a stove. Cooks in Beppu steam eggs, vegetables and seafood in vents. The style is called jigoku mushi, which means hell steaming. The volcanic island also has Yufuin, Kurokawa and Ibusuki, where bathers are buried in warm sand.
Highlights:
  • 🕊️ Explore historic Nagasaki Peace Park memorial
  • 🥾 Hike scenic trails at Mount Aso volcanic caldera
  • ♨️ Relax in Beppu’s famous hot spring baths
Kinosaki Onsen
Seven bathhouses to stroll between in yukata
8.3
Seven public bathhouses stand along a willow lined stream in this small Hyogo town. Guests in cotton robes and wooden clogs stroll between the baths each evening. Winter brings crab season with snow crab served at many inns. A day pass lets guests enter all seven baths.
Highlights:
  • ⛩️ Visit the historic Kinosaki Shrine and participate in local rituals
  • 👘 Stroll through the charming streets wearing a yukata and geta
  • 🛁 Relax in a traditional ryokan and soak in private onsen baths
Noboribetsu
Steaming hell valley and nine spring types
8.5
The name Noboribetsu comes from an Ainu phrase meaning cloudy river. Hell Valley is a volcanic crater with steaming vents and bubbling pools. Its hot springs feed nine types of water to nearby inns. A short trail leads to a warm stream where visitors rest their feet in the open air.
Highlights:
  • 🐻 Meet Japanese macaques at the Noboribetsu Bear Park
  • 🌋 Walk through the steaming volcanic valley of Jigokudani
  • ♨️ Soak in natural hot springs at Noboribetsu Onsen resort
Nyuto Onsen
Seven secluded onsen inns in beech forest
9.2
Milky white water steams beside thatched roof cottages in a beech forest. Nyuto Onsen is a group of old inns deep in the mountains of Akita. Tsurunoyu dates to the 1600s and has four kinds of springs. Snow can pile up taller than a person in winter.
Highlights:
  • 🥩 Taste yamanoimo nabe, a hearty mountain yam hot pot
  • 🏞️ Hop between Nyuto's hot spring inns with a Yumeguri pass
  • ♨️ Soak in the milky-white outdoor bath at Tsurunoyu
Gero
One of Japan's three great hot springs
7.5
On the banks of the Hida River in Gifu, the town has smooth alkaline water that leaves skin silky. A scholar in the Edo period ranked it among Japan's three famous hot springs. Many inns have open air baths facing the river. Gero Onsen Gassho Village, an open air museum of farmhouses, is nearby.
Highlights:
  • 🚶🏻 Stroll along the Gero Onsen street and footbaths
  • 🏮 Stay overnight in a traditional ryokan inn
  • ♨️ Soak in Gero’s famous natural hot spring baths
Kumamoto
Castle city with horse sashimi and Mt. Aso
7.6
In central Kyushu, this region has hot springs from the coast up to the rim of Mount Aso. Tamana Onsen is called a beauty bath since the water feels soft on the skin. Kumamoto Castle, with black walls, stands in the city center. Stay near Kurokawa or Aso for quiet village baths.
Highlights:
  • 📚 Meet Kumamon, Kumamoto's famous bear mascot, at Kumamon Square
  • 🌿 Stroll through the serene Suizenji Jojuen Garden
  • 🏯 Explore the historic Kumamoto Castle grounds
Hokkaido
Volcanoes, powder snow and fresh seafood
9.3
Where Honshu has old village inns, Hokkaido has hot springs beside volcanoes, lakes and forests. Noboribetsu has a steaming hell valley. Jozankei sits in a river gorge near Sapporo. Lake Toya has hot spring hotels facing a caldera lake. In winter, snow piles up beside the outdoor baths.
Highlights:
  • 🚤 Explore historic Otaru Canal and its shops
  • 🏂 Ski or snowboard in world-famous Niseko resorts
  • 💧 Visit the spectacular Shirogane Blue Pond
Yufuin Onsen
Lakeside onsen town below Mount Yufu
8.4
Morning mist rises from Lake Kinrin on cold mornings when warm spring water meets the air. Twin peaked Mount Yufu looms over the town. Small inns have private outdoor baths that guests book by the hour. Cafes and craft shops line the main lane from the station.
Highlights:
  • 🌅 Take a morning walk around tranquil Lake Kinrin
  • 🛍️ Stroll along Yufuin’s picturesque Yunotsubo Kaido shopping street
  • 🛀 Bathe in a private open-air onsen with mountain views
Nagano
Temple pilgrimage town near snow monkeys
7.4
At Jigokudani Monkey Park, wild snow monkeys soak in a hot spring pool while snow falls around them. A forest path of about two kilometers leads to the park. Ski towns such as Nozawa Onsen have public bathhouses and steaming street fountains. Nagano also hosted the 1998 Winter Olympics.
Highlights:
  • 🎿 Ski the world-class slopes of Hakuba Valley
  • 🐒 See snow monkeys bathe in hot springs at Jigokudani
  • ⛩️ Visit Zenko-ji Temple, Nagano’s spiritual heart
Izu
Shuzenji hot springs, wasabi and Amagi hikes
8.1
Tokko no Yu is a small stone bath beside the Katsura River in Shuzenji. The monk Kobo Daishi is said to have struck a rock here in 807. Hot water gushed out. A bamboo path winds along the river nearby. Quiet inns and old streets surround it.
Highlights:
  • 🌸 Walk the Path of Bamboo along Shuzenji's river
  • 💧 Hike to the stunning Joren Waterfall
  • ♨️ Relax in the healing waters of Shuzenji Onsen
Aso-Kuju National Park
Giant caldera, active volcano and highlands
8.1
One of the largest calderas on earth, Aso has room inside for farms, towns and a railway. Active Nakadake crater steams above grassland where cattle graze. Hot spring inns sit in the valleys around the rim. Rangers close the crater road when gas levels rise.
Highlights:
  • 🐎 Ride horseback across the grasslands of Kusasenri Plateau
  • 🥾 Hike the Kuju Mountains for sweeping views of lush valleys
  • 🌋 Peer into Mount Aso’s active volcanic crater and feel the heat
Kurokawa Onsen
Riverside bath hopping in a Kumamoto valley
8.8
November turns the valley red and gold. A small wooden pass lets guests bathe at three of about thirty inns in the village. Stone paths and wooden bridges wind between small inns along the river. The town is built to look like a quiet mountain village.
Highlights:
  • 🏮 Enjoy seasonal lantern festivals lighting the village
  • 👘 Stroll the charming streets in traditional yukata robes
  • ♨️ Use the wooden pass for onsen hopping across baths
Shibu Onsen
Nine public baths and cobbled lanes
8.5
Guests in cotton robes and wooden sandals walk between nine public bathhouses, each with its own spring. A key from the inn opens the doors. Nine sounds like the Japanese word for suffering. Bathing in all nine is said to wash it away. Old wooden inns line the stone streets.
Highlights:
  • 👘 Stroll historic streets wearing yukata robes
  • 🐒 Visit Jigokudani Monkey Park to see bathing snow monkeys
  • ♨️ Soak in nine unique public hot spring baths
Kinugawa-Onsen
Gorge hot spring resort near Nikko
8.3
Steam curls up from big riverside hotels in a gorge north of Tokyo. The water is mild and gentle on the skin. Rafting boats run down the Kinugawa River just below the town. Many hotels have large baths with river views. Nikko's shrines are an easy trip away.
Highlights:
  • 🍜 Taste local soba noodles at riverside izakaya
  • 🏞️ Hike to Kinugawa Gorge waterfalls
  • ♨️ Soak in outdoor hot springs overlooking mountains
Izu Peninsula
Hot springs, volcanic coast and beaches
8.3
In the 1600s, barrels of hot water from Atami were sent to Edo Castle for the shoguns. Today the peninsula has hot springs in seaside towns and mountain valleys. Kawazu is known for early cherry blossoms in February with hot spring inns nearby. Many east coast ryokan have outdoor baths facing the ocean.
Highlights:
  • 🌸 Explore Izu Kogen highland's flower gardens
  • 🏔️ Watch the sunset over Suruga Bay from Cape Koganezaki
  • 🛁 Soak in Atami's famed hot spring baths
Matsuyama
A hilltop castle and Japan's oldest hot spring
8.3
Where most bathhouses are plain, Dogo Onsen Honkan looks like a wooden palace. It was built in 1894 and has three stories and a white heron statue on the roof. After a soak, guests in cotton robes sip tea in a tatami room. A streetcar runs there from central Matsuyama.
Highlights:
  • ⛩️ Explore Ishiteji Temple and its historic tunnel
  • ♨️ Relax in Dogo Onsen, Japan's oldest hot spring
  • 🏯 Visit Matsuyama Castle with panoramic city views
Shikoku
Pilgrimage trail, gorges and hot springs
8.1
Pilgrims in white clothes walk a 1,200 kilometer route past 88 temples on this island. Many end the day with a hot spring soak. In the Iya Valley, one inn has a cable car. It carries guests down to an outdoor bath beside the river.
Highlights:
  • ♨️ Relax in Dōgo Onsen, Japan’s oldest hot spring
  • 🌊 Admire the whirlpools of Naruto Strait from the Ōnaruto Bridge
  • ⛩️ Complete the 88 Temple Pilgrimage across Shikoku
Fujikawaguchiko
Lake town with Mount Fuji views and onsen
8.1
On the northern shore of Lake Kawaguchi, this town looks straight across the water at Mount Fuji. Many lakeside hotels have open air baths facing the peak. Cherry blossoms in April and red maples in November frame the mountain. The Kachi Kachi Ropeway climbs a nearby hill for wide views.
Highlights:
  • 🚠 Ride the Mt. Fuji Panoramic Ropeway for stunning views
  • 🏘️ Explore traditional thatched houses at Iyashi-no-Sato
  • 🏞️ Admire Mount Fuji from scenic Lake Kawaguchiko
Yamanashi
Mount Fuji's north side, lakes and wine
9.4
In the 1500s, samurai lord Takeda Shingen is said to have healed his soldiers in hidden springs here. Today the region has hot spring towns among vineyards and fruit orchards. Isawa Onsen sits near wineries where visitors taste local wine. On clear days, Mount Fuji rises above the baths.
Highlights:
  • 🌅 Explore Lake Kawaguchi's sunrise reflections of Mt. Fuji
  • 🍇 Pick grapes and peaches in Yamanashi's fruit orchards
  • 🚡 Taste hōtō, Yamanashi's hearty flat noodle stew
Hida
Carp canal and sake town near Takayama
7.3
Bathers follow Japan's custom of washing at a shower stool before they enter the water. Okuhida is a group of five hot spring villages in the Northern Alps. Many have outdoor baths facing snowy peaks. Shin Hotaka has a ropeway that carries riders high above the valley.
Highlights:
  • 🚆 Ride the scenic Hida-Furukawa rail line through mountain valleys
  • 🍶 Take a sake brewery tour and sample local varieties
  • 🏮 Wander through the preserved streets of Hida-Furukawa
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