Totsukawa Onsen – Yusenchi

Totsukawa, in 2004 the first municipality in Japan to declare all its springs ‘source-only’, brings the water up here at 60°C with pH 9.1.

The spring is alkaline, simple sulphur, described as ‘water for beautiful skin’ (美肌の湯). In the same hot-spring area, the day-use public bath 泉湯, the oldest in the village, has an outdoor bath with a view over the Totsu River and the opposite side of the gorge, at 600 yen for adults.

Yusenchi Onsen (湯泉地温泉) is one of the hot-spring areas of the village of Totsukawa (十津川温泉郷), in Yoshino District, Nara. The spring is alkaline, simple sulphur (アルカリ性単純硫黄泉), and comes out at 60°C with pH 9.1. In 2004 Totsukawa became the first municipality in Japan to officially declare that all its springs are ‘source-only’: natural water, with no recirculation, no artificial heating, no chlorine disinfection and no dilution. The marked point is the lodging やど湯の里, at 十津川村武蔵846; in the same area there is also the day-use public bath 泉湯 (十津川村武蔵23), described by the Nara tourist portal as the oldest onsen in the village, with an outdoor bath overlooking the Totsu River.

ℹ️ The lodging やど湯の里 is about 70 km from Gojō (1 hr 50 min by car on National Route 168); by bus, about 4 hours from Kintetsu Yamato-Yagi via JR Gojō, or 2 hr 30 min from JR Shingū. A shuttle is available from the fire station, to be arranged in advance with the lodging. Car park available. The public bath 泉湯 in the same area is open 10:00–20:00, closed on Tuesdays, 600 yen adults / 300 yen children, cash only.

🚉 役場 · 17 min walk

Sources: hitou.or.jp · vill.totsukawa.lg.jp · yamatoji.nara-kankou.or.jp

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