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Nyuto Onsen, Semboku, Akita — at the end of a forest road in Towada-Hachimantai National Park

Tsurunoyu Onsen

乳頭温泉郷 鶴の湯温泉

4.5/5Japanese Guest ConsensusAggregated from 14 Japanese guest blogs and stay reportsSources checked Oct 13, 2026

Tsurunoyu — the gate and thatched honjin, Nyuto Onsen · lumoplank / CC0

Japanese Guest Consensus

Japan's most photographed milky mixed bath, a thatched samurai-guard house with irori hearths, and rooms from about ¥11,700 — rustic, cold in places, and hard to book

Tsurunoyu is the oldest of Nyuto Onsen's eight inns: an Akita lord came to bathe here in 1638, and it has taken ordinary guests since the late 1600s. Its thatched honjin, once quarters for the lord's guards, and the milky-blue mixed outdoor bath are among the most famous images of rural Japan — and staying the night is the way to enjoy them, because from 10:00 day visitors 'pour in'. Four springs rise within 50 metres, feeding the mixed bath, a women-only outdoor bath, several indoor baths and two private baths; bloggers call the water superb, though several found the baths lukewarm. Dinner is yamanoimo-nabe (a mountain-yam dumpling hotpot), grilled iwana and mountain vegetables, served on lacquer trays or around an irori. This is an inn to go into with eyes open: the mixed bath has no women-only hours and towels aren't allowed; changing rooms and some washrooms are cold; rooms in the cheaper wings have no toilet, no air conditioning and fusuma walls that let through the noise of 24-hour bathers; honjin rooms can't be locked from outside; there's no TV or fridge; and stink bugs appear in autumn. Rooms fill months ahead — bookings open six months out by phone or through the Japan Hitou Association site.

Overall Score4.5/5
Cuisine
4.3
Onsen Privacy
2.8
Tranquility
3.9
Hospitality
4.2

Latest updates

What newer Japanese stay reports, posts and official notices have added since this review was written

Room Selection Guide

Recommended

  • Honjin (本陣) — the thatched guard house

    Five rooms with an irori hearth, toilet and kerosene lamp, each entered from outside — the classic Tsurunoyu experience, from about ¥15,550 per person with two meals. A solo guest in 2025 found one only by phoning after the website showed it full six months ahead. Note the doors can't be locked from outside, so use the free lockers for valuables.

  • Shin-honjin and Higashi-honjin

    The comfortable option (about ¥17,750–24,350 per person): toilet and washbasin, warm in winter, and some rooms (Shin-honjin 5, Higashi-honjin 1 and 5) have an irori. They're in the same building as the guests-only indoor bath and the private baths, so you don't have to go outside in the snow.

Request To Avoid

  • Wings 2 and 3 (2号館・3号館), if you want comfort

    The cheapest rooms (about ¥11,700 per person) are 6 tatami with no toilet — shared toilets and a ground-floor washroom that one January guest found poorly heated, with icy tap water. The steam heaters are powerful, but there's no air conditioning or fan for summer, and thin fusuma let in the sound of people going to the 24-hour baths. Meals are served in honjin rooms rather than your own.

  • Wing 1 (1号館) — renovated, but meals in the main hall

    The inn's booking plans say Wing 1 has been renovated with a toilet and washbasin, and the official room page, updated in October 2026, no longer lists it as toilet-less. Its three rooms are all on the second floor, from about ¥18,080 per person, and meals are served in the main hall rather than in your room.

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Dining Deep Dive

Breakfast Consensus

4.0/5

A simple Japanese breakfast from 7:00, usually at shared tables in the main hall

Bathe in the mixed outdoor bath early in the morning or in the evening, before the 10:00 rush of day visitors. The outdoor bath is drained for cleaning on Mondays, and the private riverside bath is closed in winter.

Dinner Insights

4.3/5

Yamanoimo-nabe — a miso hotpot with chewy mountain-yam dumplings, refills allowed — grilled or raw iwana, soba and mountain vegetables, on local Kawatsura lacquerware. Honjin guests eat around their own irori (lit around 17:15, with dinner at 18:00, 18:30 or 19:00); other buildings get meals in the room or in shared honjin rooms, where guests end up chatting, and Wing 1 eats in the main hall. One blogger called the grilled iwana the best they'd eaten; another found the portions more than two could finish. Complaints: in-room meals can arrive lukewarm, and one guest found sitting at the irori uncomfortable.

Onsen & Wellness Realities

Water Type

Four springs within 50 metres: Shiro-yu (sulphur with sodium/calcium chloride and bicarbonate, which also feeds the mixed outdoor bath), Kuro-yu (sodium chloride and bicarbonate), Naka-no-yu (bicarbonate with hydrogen sulphide) and Taki-no-yu (a waterfall shower, closed in winter). Free-flowing, with water added according to the Japan Hitou Association.

Privacy & Atmosphere

The famous outdoor bath is mixed with no women-only hours, and towels may not be worn; women enter from their own side, and a screen at the entrance helps, though a 2025 day visitor wished for more screening and found the steps hidden in the cloudy water. There are women-only outdoor baths, a guests-only indoor bath (with the only showers and hairdryer) and two private indoor baths, which get queues. Outer baths have no taps or showers, and changing rooms are cold.

Tattoo Policy

Not addressed in any source we read. The two private baths are the only way to avoid sharing — ask the inn.

Local Warnings & Nuances

  1. 01

    Booking: by phone (0187-46-2139, 7:00–22:00) or through the Japan Hitou Association website; phone bookings open on the 1st of the month six months ahead, and solo stays in the honjin are phone-only. The detached 'Hanare Honjin' is sold only through JR East packages.

  2. 02

    Getting there: an hourly Ugo Kotsu bus from JR Tazawako Station to the Alpa Komakusa stop, where the inn will collect you if you phone ahead with your bus time; the last 3 km by car is a forest road. Check-in 15:00, check-out 10:00. Cards: Visa and Mastercard only.

  3. 03

    A winter heating fee of about ¥1,100–1,320 per room applies roughly from October to May.

  4. 04

    Day visitors bathe 10:00–15:00 (¥700, cash only), closed Mondays.

  5. 05

    Mobile signal is patchy (au and SoftBank especially); Wi-Fi works in the lounge. No elevator, and not accessible for wheelchairs.

Before your stay

Souvenirs from Nyuto Onsen and practical help for your trip.

Things to do nearby

Nyuto Onsen: sights, experiences and seasonal events from Trip Gacha, our sister site.

Photo credits

Sources

The real blog posts and stay reports this article draws on

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Photo credits

More Consensus Reports

Photo credits: Autumn on the Sendatsu River, Nyuto Onsen, Akita · lumoplank / CC0 / Magoroku Onsen in 2020, before its 2025 renovation, Nyūtō Onsen-kyō · Suicasmo / CC BY-SA 4.0 / Entrance to Echigo-Yuzawa Onsen, Niigata · Abasaa / Public domain / Mount Yōtei from Niseko Annupuri · MIKI Yoshihito / CC BY 2.0 / Zao Onsen, Yamagata · Raita Futo from Tokyo, Japan / CC BY 2.0