Toshichi Onsen

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

Researched and written by Hinato

Toshichi Onsenhighest in Tohokusulphuropen-air bathHachimantai

Photo: Raita Futo from Tokyo, Japan / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0) · original

Iwate has been drawing bathers to Toshichi Onsen for longer than most travel guides bother to mention.

Toshichi sits at 1,400 metres on the flank of Hachimantai, the highest hot spring in the Tohoku region, and the water comes up through the floor of the baths themselves — milky white sulphur rising through the gravel you are sitting on. The open-air baths are terraced down the hillside with almost nothing between them and the sky.

Above the cloud layer on a clear morning you look out over a sea of cloud with Mt. Iwate standing out of it, which is the reason people book months ahead for a night here. The road is closed by snow for half the year, so the inn opens around late April and shuts at the end of October. Day bathing is ¥600 for adults and runs from eight in the morning to six in the evening.

Getting in the water

Hours

Day bathing 8:00 AM – 6:00 PM

Closed: Closed from November to late April

Time to allow

90 minutes | Overnight for the cloud sea

Bathing fee

¥600 adults | ¥300 elementary school children and younger for day bathing

Best time to visit

Late April–October | Autumn colour in late September at this altitude

Getting there

Getting there in detail

Matsuo-Yoriki Kita-no-Mata, Hachimantai, at 1,400 m on the Hachimantai Jukai Line. Car recommended; the approach roads are closed in winter. Open from around late April to the end of October, closed from November until late April. Day bathing 8:00 AM – 6:00 PM, ¥600 for adults and ¥300 for elementary school children and younger. There are several terraced open-air baths including a mixed one, plus separate indoor baths and a women-only open-air bath. Simple sulphur spring.

What locals know

**The water rises through the bath floor.** Not piped in — it comes up through the gravel underfoot. That is why the pools are shallow and why they are where they are. **Half the year it is shut.** Late April to the end of October. Outside that the road is under snow and the inn is closed entirely. **Stay for the morning cloud sea.** Sunrise above the cloud layer with Iwate standing out of it is the reason for booking a night, and day bathers never see it. **There is a mixed bath.** Along with separate indoor baths and a women-only open-air pool. Deciding in advance is easier than at the changing room. **It is 1,400 metres up.** Cold even in August once you are out of the water, and the drive is a mountain road. Layers and a full tank.

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