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Hidden Onsen in Hokkaido: Locals Fact-Check a "Secret Top 10" — and Name 40 More

北海道の穴場温泉：道民が「秘湯TOP10」を検証して40湯以上を追加

Hokkaido
Hidden Onsen in Hokkaido: Locals Fact-Check a "Secret Top 10" — and Name 40 More

Show Hokkaido locals a "top-10 secret onsen" countdown and they out-obscure it: across 185 comments, locals named more than 40 hot springs of their own — while the most-liked replies (22–25 likes) fact-check the list itself, insisting picks like Karurusu and Shiobetsu Tsurutsuru have been famous locally for 40 years. The genuinely obscure winner survives scrutiny: Shukubai, a wood-fired bathhouse near New Chitose Airport that first-timers say feels "like borrowing a stranger's bath." Locals also flag two celebrated hidden springs as closed with no reopening in sight — and a couple of them quietly name where they soak instead of inbound-packed Noboribetsu.

“First-timers at Shukubai Onsen are usually in for a shock... It feels less like 'I came to bathe at an onsen' and more like 'I came to borrow a stranger's bath' lol”

祝梅温泉は初めて行った人は大抵ビックリするだろうなぁ・・・ 《温泉に入りに来た》ってより《他人の家のお風呂を借りに来た》みたいな感じで（笑）

— @王大人-r2u
City guideWhat locals say about SapporoAll 1 local roundups for Sapporo
（YouTube · 北海道まるごと探検隊【ゆっくり解説】）

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What locals said (excerpted from 185)

  • Kyowa Onsen, Karurusu, Tsurutsuru, Higashi-Taisetsuso and Kojohama have been on local TV like STV and HTB for about 40 years — I'd call them famous, honestly. Knowness-wise they lean well-known. Toyotomi Onsen used to be a genuinely minor spot since it's off Route 40, but once the travel magazines featured it, the crowds surged in and now it's hard to visit.

    協和温泉・カルルス・つるつる・東大雪荘・虎杖浜温泉あたりは40年くらい前からSTVとかHTBみたいなローカルでやってたし有名だと思うが…むしろ知名度的には有名寄りだね 豊富温泉も40号線沿いじゃないからむしろマイナー処だったのに、じゃらんとかに紹介されたら一気に押し寄せてきて行きづらくちゃった

    — @zuntasan22 likes

  • Karurusu Onsen is pretty famous, you know. Shukubai I didn't know — but from the pictures it looks a lot like Konbu Onsen did about 60 years ago.

    カルルス温泉は結構有名ですよ。 祝梅温泉は知りませんでしたが、画像などを見た限りでは60年程前の昆布温泉とよく似ています。

    — @Fミレーヌ16 likes

  • Shiobetsu Tsurutsuru Onsen is well known locally and gets crowded depending on the hour. Bangakuso, though, really has nobody — it basically operates on the assumption that not even the staff will appear (lol)

    塩別つるつる温泉は地元では知られていて時間によっては混んでますわ、蟠岳荘はホント人がいないどころか店員も出てこない前提の営業（笑）

    — @kirikiri36363625 likes

  • No. 1 turned out to be Shukubai Onsen, right by my house... It's seriously good... I'd rather it stayed unknown... lol

    １位がまさかの近所の祝梅温泉とは... かなり良いです... あまり知られてほしくない...笑

    — @てつや-u7m6 likes

  • At Tomuraushi, the real shock isn't the onsen — it's the lodge: huge and modern, deep in mountains so remote you wonder how they ever built it where heavy machinery can't even get in.

    トムラウシのは温泉よりも重機も入れないような超山奥にどうやって建てたの？と思うほどデカくて近代的な宿の方が衝撃

    — @nownow899519 likes

  • Not quite a hidden valley, but I love Bansei Onsen ♪ 😚

    秘境って程じゃないけど、晩成温泉が好き♪😚

    — @ながちゃん-q5c30 likes

  • Urahoro Rushin Onsen... and there are plenty more springs out there that are even too minor for this list.

    うらほろ留真温泉・・・ 他にもマイナー過ぎる温泉は色々あったりする

    — @coronazo119 likes

  • If Shukubai Onsen makes the list, please remember Matsubara Onsen too. If Shiobetsu Tsurutsuru makes it, remember Pon-yu Sankoso. And Ebeotsu Onsen, given what this video is going for.

    祝梅温泉出るなら松原温泉も思い出してあげてほしい。塩別つるつる温泉出るならポンユ三光荘も思い出してあげてほしい。あとは、えべおつ温泉かな。この動画の趣旨だと。

    — @ttoshi991617 likes

  • Tsuru-no-yu Onsen in Abira is good too. Your skin turns silky and the food is tasty.

    安平町の鶴の湯温泉もいいよ 肌ツルツルになるし飯が美味い

    — @追分の珍宝15 likes

  • You can't get in without staying overnight, but Yoroushi; then Ginkonyu in Yakumo and Hiromeso in Minami-Kayabe are my personal recommendations.

    宿泊しないと入れんが養老牛、後は八雲の銀婚湯、南茅部のひろめ荘も個人的におすすめ

    — @ahoudori-ut6vi7 likes

  • On the Japan Sea side: Motta Onsen, and San-san no Yu at Iwanai Onsen — recommended!! ♨️

    日本海側ではモッタ温泉、 岩内温泉のサンサンの湯が オススメだ‼︎♨️

    — @toshifuna58707 likes

  • Kanagawa-born, now living in Kumamoto. This brought back Toyotomi Onsen, which I visited during a few months in Hokkaido back in early summer '02 🤗 I still occasionally think, 'that was one odd onsen, all petroleum-smelling' — is it a major spot for Hokkaido locals?

    神奈川県出身の現熊本県民です '02年初夏から数ヶ月間の道内滞在中に訪れた豊富温泉を想起しました🤗 「なんだか石油臭くて一風変わった温泉だったなあ」と今でも時折思い出しますが、道民にとってはメジャーな存在なのでしょうか？

    — @akira_kodama_050522 likes

  • Maybe not so much for Hokkaido locals — but among people with atopic dermatitis and psoriasis, it's famous as a healing bath.

    道民にとってはそうでもないかもしれませんが、アトピーや乾癬患者にとっては湯治場として有名な温泉です。

    — @しば.けん13 likes

  • For hidden-valley classics you can't skip Ososhi Onsen Shikanoyuso in Shintoku — a pH-10 alkaline sulfur spring — and the Esan Onsen ryokan in Hakodate with its strongly acidic alum water. Sadly, word is neither has any reopening in sight.

    秘境の名湯といえば新得町オソウシ温泉鹿乃湯荘のph10のアルカリ硫黄泉、函館市恵山温泉旅館の強酸性明礬泉は外せないが、いずれも再開の目途は立っていないらしい。残念

    — @baqyuun6428 likes

  • It's suspended right now, but Taisetsu Kogen Onsen — even deeper in than Tomuraushi — was wonderful too. I hope it reopens.

    今は休業してるけど、トムラウシよりもっと秘境の大雪高原温泉も良かった。再開してほしいな。

    — @アリアリム-w2j5 likes

  • If you're going to Kojohama Onsen, please use Kojohama Station — not Noboribetsu Station...

    虎杖浜温泉に行くなら登別駅じゃ無くて虎杖浜駅を使ってください…

    — @r.e.209416 likes

Where locals go instead

  • No. 10, Karurusu Onsen — I went last month for a healing stay. Unlike Noboribetsu Onsen, which is packed with inbound tourists, I got to enjoy the baths in a calm, quiet setting. It's a bit out of the way, but I want to go back.

    10位カルルス温泉は先月湯治で行きました。 インバウンドだらけの登別温泉と違って、静かで落ち着いた環境で温泉を堪能できました。 ちょっと辺鄙な場所だけどまた行きたい。

    — @あっちゃん-g2m2 likes

  • The real connoisseurs go where it's free (Fukiage in Kamifurano, Chi-no-hate in Shiretoko, etc.)

    通な人はタダで入れるところに行く（上富良野の吹上、知床の地の涯etc）

    — @璃瑪依亜珊1 likes

Places named in this article

  • Shukubai Onsen祝梅温泉Chitose (near New Chitose Airport)

    The countdown's No. 1 — "like borrowing a stranger's bath" (22 likes); a neighbor rates it seriously good and hopes it stays unknown. Closed in winter (as of our check).

  • Shiobetsu Tsurutsuru Onsen塩別つるつる温泉Rubeshibe, Kitami

    Slippery alkaline water locals already know well — expect company at peak hours (25 likes).

  • Karurusu Onsenカルルス温泉Noboribetsu

    The quiet hamlet about 8 km from tourist-packed Noboribetsu — a local's healing-stay pick they'd return to.

  • Kojohama Onsen虎杖浜温泉Shiraoi

    Seaside bathhouses on the source-rich Shiraoi coast. Local tip with 16 likes: get off at Kojohama Station, not Noboribetsu.

  • Bansei Onsen晩成温泉Taiki, Tokachi

    The thread's single most-liked pick (30 likes): iodine-dark water with a Pacific Ocean view.

  • Urahoro Rushin Onsenうらほろ留真温泉Urahoro, Tokachi

    pH-10 alkaline water in the Tokachi hills (19 likes) — "and there are plenty more this obscure."

  • Ginkonyu銀婚湯（上の湯温泉）Yakumo, southern Hokkaido

    A local's personal shortlist pick — a 1925 riverside inn with garden hideaway baths.

  • Toyotomi Onsen豊富温泉Toyotomi, near Wakkanai

    Japan's northernmost onsen town — petroleum-scented, oil-flecked water famous as a healing bath for atopic skin and psoriasis (13 likes).

  • Matsubara Onsen松原温泉Chitose

    "If Shukubai makes the list, remember Matsubara too" (17 likes) — coffee-dark moor water at a Meiji-era family bathhouse.

  • Tsuru-no-yu Onsen鶴の湯温泉Abira

    "Your skin turns silky and the food is good" (15 likes) — one of Hokkaido's oldest onsen, open since 1902.

Named in the source comments — hours, prices, and openings change, so check each map listing before you go.

FAQ

What are the best hidden onsen in Hokkaido, according to locals?
The comment section's strongest picks: Bansei Onsen (30 likes) — iodine-dark water facing the Pacific in Tokachi; Tsuru-no-yu in Abira, where "your skin turns silky and the food is good" (15 likes); Ginkonyu, a historic riverside inn near Yakumo; and Urahoro Rushin Onsen, a pH-10 alkaline spring in the Tokachi hills.
Is Noboribetsu Onsen too touristy? Where do locals go instead?
One local who did a healing stay recently puts it plainly: Noboribetsu is "packed with inbound tourists," so they soak at Karurusu Onsen instead — a small national health-resort hamlet about 8 km up the valley from Noboribetsu, quiet and a little remote. Their verdict: they'd go back.
What is Shukubai Onsen, the countdown's No. 1 hidden spring?
A tiny bathhouse on the rural edge of Chitose, a short drive from New Chitose Airport. Locals joke that first-timers feel less like they came to an onsen and more like they're "borrowing a stranger's bath" (22 likes) — and a neighbor confirms it's seriously good and wishes it would stay unknown.
How reliable are 'secret onsen' lists for rural Hokkaido?
Treat them as snapshots. In this one thread, locals flagged Ososhi Onsen and the Esan Onsen ryokan as closed with "no reopening in sight," and Taisetsu Kogen Onsen as currently suspended (as of the comments). Remote Hokkaido springs close, pause and change owners often — always confirm on a current map listing before driving out.

This is one of 1 local roundups for Sapporo. See them all →

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