Onsen towns you can reach by bullet train from Tokyo新幹線で行く温泉

One of Nagano's oldest hot springs and the nearest of the eight to Tokyo, with temples that earned it the name Kamakura of Shinshū. Three public baths cost ¥300 each. The water is a colourless simple sulfur spring, 50.9°C at the main source: Daishiyu runs its own source free-flowing, while Ōyu and Ishiyu combine free flow with recirculation. Anraku-ji's octagonal pagoda is a National Treasure. Bessho Onsen and Ueda guide.

A stone-paved lane of tall wooden inns where each guest borrows a key to nine public baths, with the Jigokudani snow monkeys a bus ride up the valley. The water is chloride-sulfate at 53–75.7°C, and the nine baths are listed as free-flowing. Day visitors can use only Ōyu (No. 9, rust-red water): ¥800, 10:00–17:00. Yudanaka and Shibu guide.

A ski village with 13 public baths that are free, kept by neighbourhood households and open 5:00 to 23:00 (from 6:00 in December to March). The water flows naturally, from 43°C at the mildest bath to 82°C at the vents: hot, cloudy and sulfurous near the centre. The Dōsojin fire festival is on 15 January. Nozawa Onsen guide.

Seven onsen at the foot of Mt Myōkō. Akakura has clear sulfate-bicarbonate water at about 51°C, ryokan with free-flowing baths and an open-air rock bath, Taki-no-yu (¥500, April to November, 10:00–16:00). Tsubame, at 1,150 m, has milky sulfur water from April to November. Winter brings ski crowds; autumn is quiet. Myōkō onsen guide, getting to Myōkō.

A compact town at the mouth of the Kurobe Gorge and the start of the open-sided Kurobe Gorge Railway, which runs to Keyakidaira until 30 November 2026. Every inn takes water piped 7 km from Kuronagi: a simple alkaline spring (pH 8.5), cooled for the baths. Most big hotels filter and recirculate it; a few small baths run free-flowing. Ryokan day baths run ¥1,000–¥2,500 (call ahead) and the footbath at the station is free. Unazuki Onsen guide, Kurobe Gorge.

A seaside resort on Nanao Bay with hot, salty chloride water that rises at the edge of the sea. It was badly damaged in the earthquake of 1 January 2024: by 16 July 2026 11 of its 19 inns had reopened, and Kagaya is still closed. The public Sōyu bath (¥490) has been open since 2024. Go for a night, with the booking confirmed first. What is open in Noto and Wakura.

Three towns a bus ride from Kaga-Onsen Station. Yamashiro centres on a rebuilt Meiji bathhouse, Kosōyu (¥700), on a cobbled square. Yamanaka is a gorge town with the Kiku-no-yu bath (¥500). Katayamazu has salty water beside Lake Shibayama. See the Katayamazu guide. Yamashiro and Katayamazu are about 10 minutes from the station, Yamanaka about 30. Most large ryokan heat and recirculate; KAI Kaga and Araya Tōtōan in Yamashiro run free-flowing baths. Only a few Kagayaki stop here; the Hakutaka does, and Kanazawa to Kaga-Onsen is 14 to 19 minutes (Kaga Onsen as a day trip).

Farmers digging an irrigation well found hot water here in 1883. Seventy-four wells now feed the ryokan, so the water changes from inn to inn: Tsuruya runs three untouched 80°C wells, Beniya has four wells and free-flowing baths, and the large hotels recirculate. The Centopia Awara public bath is ¥600, and the hinoki footbath by Awara-yunomachi Station is free. Crab season runs 6 November to 20 March. Awara Onsen guide.