Ikeyama Spring

photo by STA3816 · CC BY-SA 3.0

photo by STA3816 · CC BY-SA 3.0

It gushes 30 tonnes of water a minute at 13.5 °C, beneath trees more than 200 years old.

From the car park for thirty cars the spring is a few steps away: the water comes out with the sound of a torrent from under trees more than two hundred years old. Visitors walk in it, in icy water that stays at 13.5 °C all year, and below the car park is the area where bottles are filled.

It is in Tajiri, in the village of Ubuyama (産山村). The water stays at 13.5 °C all year and flows at 30 tonnes a minute: it is groundwater of medium hardness (中間硬水), that is, with a moderate quantity of dissolved mineral salts. In 1985 it was included among the 名水百選, the ‘hundred select waters of Japan’ chosen by the Ministry of the Environment. The prefectural portal adds that it is surrounded by trees more than 200 years old; the village also makes a product for sale from it.

ℹ️ No opening hours, closing day or ticket price are published: the prefectural portal, under the headings of hours, closing and fees, writes ‘記載なし’ (nothing written). Car park for 30 cars near the water. Car only: from Kumamoto IC about 1 hr 30 min, from Kujū IC about 50 minutes (portal); from Miyaji 30 minutes by car, 20 km (Jalan). The nearest bus stop, Hirose-bashi, is 120 minutes on foot (9 km): in practice you cannot get there without a car. A 2026 review describes the last stretch as country lanes. No official page gives the state of the place after the earthquake of 28/07/2026.

Sources: kumamoto.guide · ja.wikipedia.org

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