Shirakawago no Yu: hot spring hours, fees and access

Shirakawa-go no Yu

Type: Onsen
Address: 337 Ogimachi, Shirakawa, Ono District, Gifu 501-5627
Area: Shirakawa-go (Ogimachi)
Google rating: 4.1 (1,186 reviews) on Google Maps, checked October 2026
On the map: Open in Google Maps

Google Maps lists no opening hours

What the bath is

This onsen is a hot spring facility in the gassho-zukuri village where you can bathe as a day visitor or stay overnight³. The tourism association says it opened on 20 October 2002⁴.

The bath’s own site says it is the only natural hot spring in the World Heritage area¹. The address is 337 Ogimachi, Shirakawa-mura⁵, in Ogimachi, Gifu Prefecture.

What the water and baths are like

The water is a sodium chloride spring¹. Besides the indoor bath there is a dry sauna and an open-air bath.

The indoor bath has cypress on the ceiling and walls, with a tub and floor of bakuhanseki stone¹.
The open-air bath looks out over the Hakusan mountains, the gassho village and the Shogawa River below¹.

Narrow lane curving past thatched gassho houses and rice fields in Ainokura

Before you go

Opening hours and closed days

Last entry 20:00¹

The facility’s own site gives day-bathing hours of 7:00 to 21:00, with last entry at 20:00¹ (checked October 2026). Arrive well before last entry.

Day visitors can’t eat here, because the bath does not serve meals to day-trip visitors⁶. Eat in the village before or after.

What you pay

Entry fees

Day bathing is ¥900¹ (about US$6) for adults (checked October 2026). Towels cost extra, and staying in a village minshuku brings a small discount.

Day bathing costs

Cost	Adult	Child
Day bathing	¥900	¥500 (elementary school)
Towel	¥200	–
Bath towel rental	¥300	–
Minshuku guest discount	¥100 off	¥50 off

shirakawagou-onsen.jp (resort); shirakawa-go.gr.jp (official)

By bus or car

Getting to the bath from Takayama

The bus is the easiest way: about 50 minutes⁷ from Takayama, then a very short walk.

About 50 minutes by bus⁷

Take the Nohi Bus

Board at platform 4 at Takayama Nohi Bus Center. The ride takes 50 minutes, and there are 16 round trips a day, some needing a reservation.
Check the fare

Nohi Bus lists a one-way fare of ¥2,800 from Takayama to Shirakawa-go.
Walk to the bath

The bath is about 2 minutes on foot from Shirakawago Bus Terminal; the resort says 1 minute.
Or drive

By car it is 7 minutes from Shirakawago IC on Route 156, with parking for 25 ordinary cars while you visit.

The largest gassho-zukuri house in the village is a few minutes from the same terminal; see the old Wada House design and entry details for access.

Combining the bath with other trips

Shirakawa-go is mainly geared to day tourists and shuts down after sunset⁹, so a bath fits well at the end of a day trip. Nohi Bus also runs a tour that combines lunch and a bath at Oshirakawa Onsen Shiramizu-no-yu with a walk around Shirakawa-go¹⁰.

For other options, see more things to do in Takayama, the nearby sibling town of Hida Furukawa, or ski slopes and baths near Hirayu for a different hot-spring area.

Shirakawago no Yu: hot spring hours, fees and access

What the bath is

What the water and baths are like

Day bathing costs

Take the Nohi Bus

Check the fare

Walk to the bath

Or drive

Combining the bath with other trips

Plan the rest