Hakone's Famous Bath Is "All Overseas Visitors Now": The Quiet Onsen Where Kanagawa Regulars Actually Soak
箱根の名物湯は「海外の人ばかり」に —— 神奈川の地元民が本当に浸かっている静かな温泉
By Rakutaro · Tokyo, Japan
A 30-year regular of Tenzan — Hakone's most famous day-bath — says it has "sadly become a bath full of overseas visitors," and he isn't thrilled the video outed his refuge either. Under a roundup of Kanagawa's minor onsen, Kanagawa regulars mapped the circuit they actually use: they named more than a dozen additional springs in the comments (plus two closures worth knowing), from Tanzawa-fed baths with "superb water" (31 likes) to a pH-10 mountain bathhouse best on a drizzly weekday. The spot they guard hardest sits right next door to Tenzan itself — a baths-only annex where, as one 37-like comment puts it, the families and tourists all flow to the famous place and leave the quiet to solo onsen-lovers.
“So Ichikyu is out of the bag… I'd rather it had stayed unknown. And Tenzan has sadly become a bath full of overseas visitors. I've been going for about 30 years now…”
一休でてしまったか、、、あまり知られたくなかったが。。。そして天山は海外の人ばかりの湯になってしまいかなり残念。もう30年くらい通っていますが。。
Where Japanese visitors go instead
Ichikyu really is the hidden one. When I'm worn out I take a paid day off and go. It's "baths only," but there's a little tatami room about four-and-a-half mats big, and chairs along a corridor with a view — I nap on the tatami, sit in the breeze, and just switch off. The families and tourists all flow to famous Tenzan, so it's quiet solo onsen-lovers. That's the best part.
一休はほんと穴場よな。疲れたときは有給取ってよくいく。お風呂だけとあるが、畳敷きの四畳半くらいのスペースと、景色のいい廊下に座椅子があるから、畳で横になったり、廊下で風を感じながらぼーっとしてる。 ファミリー層や観光客はみんな有名な天山に流れるから、温泉好きな一人客が多くて静かなのもいい。
— @豆のスリーベース37 likesFor Hakone I always go to Izumi! The Yokosuka bath is my hometown one and I'm glad it got featured, but the water is heavy on chlorine and it's packed… so I pass.
箱根はいつも和泉に行ってます！横須賀湯楽の里は地元だから紹介してくれて嬉しいけど、お湯は塩素たっぷりだし、人だらけだし・・・行かないかな・・・
— @TheMangoDream0 likes
Places named in this article
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- Kayoi Toji IchikyuHakone-Yumoto
Tenzan's baths-only sister annex — tatami naps, corridor breeze, quiet solo bathers while the crowds flow next door (37 likes). Closed Thursdays.
- Tenzan TojikyoHakone-Yumoto
Hakone's famous day-bath — regulars still rate the water, but a 30-year regular says it's now mostly overseas visitors. As of the comments.
- Hakone-Yumoto Day Onsen IzumiHakone-Yumoto
Another commenter's standing choice for Hakone day-bathing. Closed Tuesdays.
- Nakagawa Onsen BunanoyuYamakita, west Kanagawa
Town-run pH-10 bathhouse in the mountains — best on a drizzly weekday; in summer the parking fills by morning (river-play spot next door). Closed Mondays.
- NanasawasoNanasawa Onsen, Atsugi
Commenters rate its slick, skin-softening alkaline water above better-known baths; small sauna, onsen-water cold plunge, resident cat at the front desk.
4.70★ from 325 guest reviews on Rakuten Travel (as of Sep 2026)
- Kobo no Sato YuTsurumaki Onsen, Hadano
Municipal bath by Tsurumaki-Onsen station — local produce and sweets in the shop, good soba in the post-bath lounge. Closed Mondays.
- Yutoro Sagasawa no YuYugawara
A local's pick in Yugawara for the views (24 likes).
Named in the source comments. Where a note gives a price, opening status or rule, we checked it against the linked source on the date shown — everything else is what the comments said. All of it can change; check the map listing before you go.
FAQ
- Is Tenzan Onsen in Hakone still worth visiting?
- Commenters in this thread still respect the water — one says he loves it but the indoor bath runs too hot for him — yet the crowd is now the story: a commenter who has soaked there for about 30 years says it has "become a bath full of overseas visitors" (26 likes). His quiet fix isn't leaving Hakone; it's the baths-only sister annex next door, Ichikyu.
- Are there quiet onsen day trips from Tokyo besides the famous Hakone spots?
- Yes — the comments name more than a dozen: Nanasawa and Tsurumaki onsen in the Tanzawa foothills ("the water quality is superb" — 31 likes), Nakagawa Onsen's pH-10 mountain bathhouse, and Yugawara's hillside baths with a view. The recurring local advice: go on a weekday, ideally in the morning, when several commenters found the baths nearly empty.
- What is Ichikyu (一休) in Hakone?
- The baths-only sister facility of Tenzan Tojikyo in Hakone-Yumoto, one door down from the famous main bathhouse. A 37-like comment describes why regulars protect it: a small tatami room to nap in, chairs along a breezy corridor, and a crowd of quiet solo onsen-lovers — because families and tourists all flow next door to Tenzan.
- When should you go to avoid crowds at these onsen?
- Per the commenters: weekdays, the earlier the better — one found Nanasawa "wonderfully empty" on a weekday morning, another loved Nakagawa on a drizzly weekday. One seasonal warning got specific: Bunanoyu at Nakagawa sits next to a river-play spot, so summer mornings the parking lot fills first thing.
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What Japanese visitors said — picked from the top 70 of 195 comments
I love Tenzan in Hakone, but the water runs so hot I can't get into the indoor bath 😅 Come to think of it, it's been a while.
箱根の天山は好きなんだが、湯が熱くて内湯入れない😅 そういえば最近行ってないな～
Nanasawa, Tsurumaki, Jinba — the post-hike baths out this way are quietly excellent. An absolute lifesaver.
七沢、鶴巻、陣場、と登山帰りの湯が何気に充実してるのほんと助かる。
Basically everything in Hadano, Ashigara, Isehara and Atsugi sits on the Tanzawa range, so the water quality is superb!
基本的に、秦野、足柄、伊勢原、厚木は丹沢山系なので水質は最高です！
Kanagawa also has a lot of super-sento-style places running genuine natural onsen water.
神奈川県は天然温泉のスーパー銭湯みたいのも多いイメージがありますね。
Nakagawa Onsen on a drizzly weekday — quiet, atmospheric, one of my favorite memories.
中川温泉は平日のしとしと雨の降る日に行ったら静かで雰囲気あって良かった思い出
Bunanoyu at Nakagawa says pH 10 but isn't actually that slippery; Nanasawaso at Nanasawa Onsen has more of that slick-skin feel.
中川温泉ぶなの湯 pH10と言う割にヌルヌル感はあまり 七沢温泉七沢荘の方がヌルヌル感あり
Did the day-bathing at Nanasawaso — there's a small sauna, and the cold plunge is onsen water too, so your skin stays silky even in the plunge. Plus an adorable resident cat by the front desk.
七沢荘の日帰り入浴で七沢温泉入りましたが、小さいサウナもあって水風呂も温泉だから水風呂入ってる間も肌ぬるっぬるで気持ち良かったのとフロント周りにいる看板猫が可愛可愛かった あと神奈川県の横浜川崎辺りは黒湯が出るから銭湯でも温泉に浸かれる所も結構ありますね
Went to Nanasawa Onsen. It was a weekday-morning visit, so it was wonderfully empty and comfortable. Thank you.
七沢温泉に行ってきました。平日午前中の訪問だったので、とても空いてて快適でした。ありがとうございます。
There are municipal baths on the mountain side of Tsurumaki and Hadano — you can get a private bath for less than the going rate when you want to take it slow.
鶴巻や秦野の山際に市営の温泉がありますけど、貸切風呂が相場より安く入れるのでゆっくりしたい時はそこを使ってますね～
The little shop at Bunanoyu is weirdly tempting — I always buy the umeboshi. Kobo no Sato Yu at Tsurumaki has piles of local vegetables and sweets, and I like the soba in the post-bath lounge.
中川温泉・ぶなの湯の売店は妙にそそられる。梅干しを買う 鶴巻温泉・弘法の里湯は地元の野菜やお菓子がたくさん。湯上がり処の蕎麦も好き
If you're in Yugawara, Yutoro Sagasawa no Yu has lovely views and is a good one. Though it's been a while since I went.
湯河原ならゆとろ嵯峨沢の湯も景色が良くておすすめ。 暫く行ってないですが。 昔は、他にも良いところがあったようですが。
Fair warning: the baths at Nakagawa sit next to a river-play spot, so in summer the parking lot is full first thing in the morning. It's hell.
中川の湯は夏休みは川遊びスポットが隣接してるから夏は朝一で駐車場が埋まる地獄だぞ
There used to be Higashiotaru no Yu, but the pump aged out and it closed. That place had a real hidden-spring feel, and the food was great too.
東尾垂の湯があったんやけど ポンプの老朽化で 閉館してしまった。 あそこは本当に秘湯感があって飯も美味かった
What I love are the ordinary sento-style onsen that blend into daily life, the ones locals quietly cherish. So many of that type have closed this past decade — Akai Onsen in Kanazawa-bunko, Nobi Onsen out in Kurihama. It's a shame.
日常に溶け込んでいて地元民に愛されている、普通の銭湯型の温泉が好きです。この10年でだいぶそのタイプの温泉閉館しちゃいまして寂しいですね。金沢文庫の赤井温泉とか、久里浜にあった野比温泉とか。