Arifuku Onsen

Little knownBarely documented in English. This is the kind of place the site exists for.

Researched and written by Hinato

Arifuku OnsenGotsupublic bathhousealkaline springTaisho architecture

Photo: Kuma83 / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) · original

Arifuku Onsen is one of the reasons Shimane shows up on any list of Japan's onsen country.

Arifuku is a hot spring village folded into a narrow valley in Gotsu, with inns stacked up the slope on either side of a stone stairway and a public bathhouse at the centre. The water is an alkaline simple spring and the local name for it is the beauty water — slippery on the skin, odourless, and gentle enough to sit in for a long time, which is the opposite proposition to the fierce sulphur baths further east.

The centrepiece is Gozenyu, a public bathhouse in a Taisho-era Western-influenced building with a domed ceiling over the tub. It is small, plain and used by residents, and at ¥400 it is one of the cheapest genuinely characterful baths in the region. The village is quiet to the point of being sleepy and has been through a long decline and a recent revival, which means a handful of new small businesses among the old inns. Almost no foreign visitor stops here.

Getting in the water

Hours

Gozenyu 7:00 AM – 10:00 PM | Last reception 9:30 PM

Closed: Varies — confirm before visiting

Time to allow

1.5–2 hours | Overnight for the village atmosphere

Bathing fee

Gozenyu: ¥400 adults, ¥200 elementary school children | Private family bath: ¥1,200 for 60 minutes

Best time to visit

Year-round | Autumn and winter for the valley at night

Getting there

Getting there in detail

710 Arifuku Onsen-cho, Gotsu. Car recommended; roughly from JR Gotsu Station. ¥400 adults and ¥200 elementary school children; a private family bath is ¥1,200 for 60 minutes. Alkaline simple spring. Phone.

Bathing tips & etiquette

**Gozenyu is the reason to come.** The Taisho building with the domed ceiling over the bath is what distinguishes Arifuku from any number of small onsen. At ¥400 it costs less than a coffee and it is the one thing not to skip. **Take the family bath if you have tattoos or company.** A private room bath is ¥1,200 for an hour, which removes any question about tattoo policy and works for couples or families who do not want to split up. **Closed Tuesdays.** The main bathhouse takes Tuesday off. There are other baths in the village but this is the one worth the trip. **Walk the stairway.** The village is built vertically along a stone stair between the inns, and walking it end to end takes ten minutes and is the whole townscape. In the evening with the lamps on it is the best it looks. **Combine with Gotsu and the tile country.** This part of Shimane is the home of Sekishu roof tiles, and the red-tiled villages along the coast around Gotsu are unlike anywhere else in Japan. Bath in the afternoon, drive the coast at sunset.

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