Okutsu onsen Hanabijin no Sato

This is information from my visit to Hanabijin no Sato, a day-trip hot spring in Okutsu Onsenkyo, on Saturday, June 21, 2025, at 6:00 PM. It's a beautiful and impressive facility, but perhaps because I visited near the end of the season and out of season, the hot springs were sparsely populated and had a somewhat lonely atmosphere. It might be bustling in early autumn, when the leaves change color. Open 10:00-19:00 (last order 18:00). Adults cost 880 yen. Electronic code payment is also accepted at the ticket machine. Shoe lockers and changing lockers are free, and valuables lockers require a combination lock. Present your entrance ticket to the reception to receive your locker key. Amenities include body soap, shampoo, conditioner, a hairdryer, and a water dispenser. The soap is Kumano Oil's Scritto Tsubaki. The indoor bathing area consists of a main bathtub (with vibrator), an American bath, a dry sauna, a cold water bath, a hot spring bath in a small annex, an outdoor open-air silk bath (fine bubble bath), and a spacious deck with about five chairs where you can even sunbathe. The water is a very mild, hypotonic alkaline simple spring with a temperature of 38.9°C, an unknown pH, and a dissolved concentration of 133.6mg. It is almost colorless, transparent, tasteless, and odorless. The metasilicic acid content was 51.3mg, which meets the standard, and the water felt slightly slimy. The building has a woody exterior, and the open, high-ceilinged interior features a relaxing rest area and a raised tatami room where you can lie down on tatami mats. There is a small shop on site, but no dining area. Once you leave the building, there is an Italian restaurant in a annex.

Adults: ¥880 With the Montbell discount, it's ¥780. If you use the Montbell discount, payment is made at the reception desk in cash. You'll be given a locker key. The receptionist's service is excellent. 😊 Indoor bath, open-air bath, sauna, and cold bath. The indoor bath is a jacuzzi-style bath. The heated bath is very spacious. The open-air bath, with its air bubbles, is very comfortable. The sauna is 90°C and there are about 10 staff members. The cold bath is so cold you'll jump out of your seat. You can't stay in it for long. The parking lot is spacious, but it's Showa-era in size. The long corridor makes it safe even on rainy days. However, perhaps due to cost-cutting measures, I parked at the very back of the parking lot, and it was pitch black when I left, with no streetlights to get to my car, which was frustrating. That's the only disappointment. But I hope Okutsu Onsen does well. 😊

Love this place… no snow in Okayama but they have it here so it makes the trip even more enjoyable going to a lovely riverside bath … we t on weekend no wait probably only at 40 capacity on Sat afternoon. They close early but we still had plenty of time to enjoy their massage chairs and baths with snow on the ground… walk along river is well worth it only sad things is all the derelict properties that show you the decline of what must have been of Okayama’s best hot-spring resorts at its peak. Next time will try the nearby Okutsu sho ryokan hotsprings for more private experience since charge for bath is only 200 yen more… spending the night there is a different animal which will set you back 40,000 yen per night but includes traditional Japanese “kaiseki” dinner. Beautiful place!

The facility was very spacious and clean. There were five types of baths plus a sauna. I went on a weekday, but it was quiet and I was able to relax. After the bath, I took a nap in the tatami rest area. The water itself was just regular water, so I wasn't sure if it was a hot spring or not. Compared to hot springs that are directly fed from the source, it didn't really feel like I was in a hot spring, and I thought it was a nice, super-sento-like facility.

Wonderful hot springs to relax and enjoy.Mens&Womens bath switch every week between 2 floors.3 or 4 indoor baths and 1 outdoor bath in each as well as sauna and plunge pool.Beautiful surroundings and building.New Italian restaurant has just opened and food was very good! Plenty of parking and nice to take a stroll through the village.