Yamamiya Hot Spring

Visited Yamamiya Onsen on Saturday, December 13, 2025, at 4:00 PM. This natural hot spring bathing facility is located near the entrance to Shosenkyo Gorge. There's a restaurant on the second floor. Parking is available in several locations around the building, with space for approximately 30 cars. According to records, the facility opened around 1992, but it underwent a major renovation at the end of 2013, and still retains a clean, new feel. Open from 10:00 AM to 10:00 PM (sapporo closing time 9:15 PM). Adult admission is ¥700 (¥400 on the 26th of each month). Payment is accepted via PayPay. Shoe lockers and changing lockers are free. Guests receive a wristband upon handing their shoe locker key to the reception desk. Amenities include body soap, shampoo, conditioner, and a hair dryer. The soap is the facility's own brand, two Panasonic Nobby hair dryers, a Hitachi water dispenser, a Tanita scale, and a Yamazen electric fan. There are two bathing areas, one at the front and one at the back, which are alternated daily for men and women. This time, I used the front one. The indoor area features seven shower mixer taps, a main bathtub (38°C), a heated secondary bathtub (42°C), a cold bath (22°C), and a dry sauna (two levels, five people). There is no open-air bath in the front bath, but there appears to be a small, semi-outdoor open-air tub at the back. According to the 2019 hot spring analysis report, the source flows 200 liters, the water temperature is 37.6°C, the pH is 7.7, and the dissolved substances are 1,366 mg. The water is a very mild, hypotonic, weakly alkaline sodium chloride spring that appears colorless, transparent, tasteless, and odorless. It contains 49.5 mg of metasilicic acid and 18.3 mg of metaboric acid, and has a slightly viscous texture, making it a "beautiful skin bath." This time we were outside of opening hours so we didn't use the restaurant on the second floor, but it seems to be popular and you can just eat there.

Visited on the morning of July 27, 2025. This hot spring is located a little way up from Kofu city center along the Shosenkyo Line. There are scattered parking spaces, and a map is available. You leave your shoe locker key at the reception, receive a wristband, and pay the entrance fee. At the restaurant on the second floor, you order using the wristband number and pay at the reception upon leaving. The building seems to have been renovated relatively recently and is very clean. The bathroom is small, and the water is said to be free-flowing from the source. You can see the water flowing freely at a glance. It's a sodium chloride spring; the alkalinity isn't particularly high, but it has a fragrance, a slight viscosity, and some effervescence. There are 7 washing areas, and shampoo and body soap are provided. There are two indoor baths; one is the source water at 38 degrees Celsius, and you can soak in it forever; it feels wonderful just to be in it. Personally, I love the water quality and temperature. The other bath is heated to 42 degrees Celsius. Each bath is quite small, feeling cramped with just 6 people. The outdoor bath has one individual-sized pot-shaped bath. There's one bench and two chairs for enjoying the fresh air. The sauna has a capacity of four people. It's about 65 degrees Celsius; it's not extremely hot, but you sweat profusely, and just sitting there feels great. Some dry saunas are almost like a form of asceticism, but sometimes something like this is nice. The restaurant on the second floor has a menu similar to an izakaya (Japanese pub). They have set lunches. There are table seats and tatami mat seats. It seems you can use it even if you don't use the baths.

It might be easier to understand if you imagine a local public bathhouse. However, it is a proper hot spring, and my skin felt silky smooth after my bath. Admission is 700 yen, and PayPay is accepted. The lockers in the changing room have locks, so you can enter without a wallet—just your smartphone. There are two indoor baths, a sauna, and a cold bath. Each is compact. There are about seven washing areas. I visited on a weekday, and there were only one or two other people, including me, so I was able to relax (though it might be a little uncomfortable if someone is next to me at the washing area). There was also one outdoor tub bath (with very warm water. It seems to only be on one side, with men and women using it alternately). There was parking space for about seven cars next to the store. Since it's along the road, you'll need to turn on your hazard lights. There seems to be space on the other side of the store and behind the traffic light.

It's a very small and cramped hot spring facility. On the day I visited (in the evening), locals were gathering, so the men's bath was full and the washing area was barely usable. The water seemed to be boiling with a fairly high salt content. It looked like a sweet potato washing area, so I washed my body and headed to the dining room on the second floor after hurriedly. It seemed like there was a banquet for local elderly men in the banquet hall up ahead, and cigarette smoke filled the hallway. The cigarette smoke was so strong that it violated the passive smoking ordinance. I had a tonkatsu set meal, but I couldn't relax. The young male staff member in the dining room was very kind. The hot spring is right next to the road, so the bath area is very small and cramped. It was difficult to find a parking spot, and I had to cross the road to get to the parking lot across the street, so I didn't feel at all relaxed and wasn't very satisfied.

I went because it was said to be a hot spring♨️, but the water was clear, smelly, and had no viscosity, so it didn't really feel like it was coming from a hot spring. The sauna was also small and there was no TV. The cold bath was for one person and the tap water was constantly running, so it was cold. There was a sauna, cold bath, low-temperature bath, and hot bath, but there were no thermometers in the baths so the temperature was unknown. There was no open-air bath. As is common in rural areas, the baths were full of local regulars, and even though they were small, they were constantly talking, so it was impossible to relax at all. I would like to see men and women alternate baths. I received a few free tickets so I'll go, but I don't think I'd go if I had to pay 700 yen out of my own pocket.