Tenryukyo Onsen Goyukkuri Hot Spring

*These are impressions of the women's bath and lounge. While the bathroom is compact, this hot spring facility offers excellent value for money, with an open-air bath, natural hot spring, sauna, and lounge. The view from the bath is simply amazing!! You can see the green trees from the indoor bath as well. You can also smell the trees and hear the sounds of nightingales from the open-air bath. The slightly viscous, weakly alkaline, hypotonic hot spring water left my skin smooth. I didn't get sick even after soaking for a long time. I stayed from 3:00 PM to 4:30 PM on a weekday, and it was very quiet. Rinse-in shampoo and body soap are provided. Hair dryers are free of charge. I brought my own towels, so I'm not sure if they're available for rental. The bathing fee is 500 yen (sauna included; there is no price without the sauna). However, there was no cold bath, so I took a shower after the sauna. The lounge has draft beer and food, and apparently they even offer massages on some days. It's about 5 to 8 minutes from Tenryukyo Station, but as you gradually head into the mountains from the station, there are uphill slopes and stairs on the way there and only downhill on the way back, so if you have large luggage like a suitcase, you can use the coin lockers next to the tourist information center. I recommend taking a taxi if you have difficulty walking. Also, all the souvenir shops in front of the station close by 4:30pm, so if you want to buy souvenirs, it's best to either leave by 4pm or buy them first before going to the bath. In June, everything was green, but I'm already looking forward to seeing the autumn leaves again in the fall.

After a long day hiking over 13km along the Nakasendo Trail in the summer heat, we were so ready for a proper soak. We were a little unsure if we’d be allowed in since my partner has two large tattoos, but the gentleman at the front desk was so kind and welcoming. He showed us how to use the vending machine to get our tickets, which made the process simple and stress-free. Both the indoor and outdoor baths for men and women, plus the sauna, were excellent. The whole atmosphere was clean, calm, and relaxing, and the local bathers were friendly and respectful. It was exactly what we needed to unwind after a full day of walking. After our bath, we wanted to grab dinner but weren’t sure if the restaurant was still open. Despite the language barrier, the older gentleman went out of his way to help us and you could tell he genuinely cared. He kindly got the manager, Kimi, who spoke English. Kimi and his partner, Michiko, showed such warm hospitality — they helped us find a place to eat and even made a reservation for us. We can’t recommend this onsen enough if you’re looking for a peaceful, authentic place to relax just like the locals do. Wonderful baths, great people, and true hospitality!

This is a simple hot spring with a high pH, so it's slightly smooth. The only downside is that the open-air bath is completely visible from the sauna, so it might not be suitable for people who don't like eye contact. Why is the side with a view facing the open-air bath and not the mountain side? The person who built it must have no idea about baths. Also, I was surprised to see more than 10 children in a group, which is unusual! Usually, children can't enter hot spring facilities alone, and most require adult supervision, but this was my first time experiencing a hot spring facility like this! So everyone else who was in the bath left at the same time. I think this facility has no common sense. I won't be coming back. Even if it was summer vacation, they still had no common sense. What a shame.

We visited this onsen while staying the night in Tenryukyo on a honeymoon bicycle tour of Japan. Although there didn't seem to be any other foreigners here, there's a very friendly man who speaks native English. We felt quite welcome here and were instructed on the use of the onsen. I don't have much onsen experience, but this one definitely seemed nice. It was extremely rejuvenating for a couple of bicyclists preparing to cross over the mountains to Nagiso on our way to Kyoto. Thank you for welcoming us!

I visited around 3pm on a Saturday in early October. There weren't many customers, and it seemed to be mostly locals. When I left around 5pm, the number of customers had doubled. The water is an alkaline simple spring, and is a little slimy with only a faint sulfur smell. It's a small facility, with an indoor bath, an open-air bath (full for two people), and a sauna (for three people). There was a bit of hair in the changing room, but overall it's a nice facility ♥