What other travelers are saying about Notoro Onsen Tenku no Yu
Wonderful place.Outdoor pool lovely and has beautiful views of the mountainside.Restaurant also very good!Plenty of parking and a wonderful drive to enjoy the scenery on the way!
General admission is 700 yen for adults (junior high school students and older) and 320 yen for children aged 4 through elementary school. Children under 4 years old can enter free of charge.
Operating hours vary by season. From April to November, the facility is open from 10:00 to 20:00. During winter months (December to March), hours are reduced to 11:00 to 17:00. The last entry is 30 minutes before closing time. The facility is closed every Monday.
The hot spring is accessible only by car, as it is located in a mountainous area. From the Chugoku Expressway Innosho Interchange, it takes approximately 40 minutes by car. Alternatively, it's about 30 minutes from the Yonago Expressway Kuze Interchange. Parking is available for 50 regular cars and 4 large buses.
Notoro Onsen is the highest hot spring in Okayama Prefecture at 700 meters elevation. It uses environmentally friendly solar heating systems to warm the natural hot spring water. The open-air bath offers panoramic mountain views that change with each season, and at night, visitors can enjoy clear views of the starry sky due to minimal light pollution.
Yes, the facility has an onsite restaurant that serves regional cuisine featuring local ingredients. Popular dishes include set meals with wild mountain vegetables and amago fish (a local specialty), as well as Kagami Inaka Curry made with locally grown vegetables, chicken, and barley miso.
The hot springs were great. Both the indoor and outdoor baths are relatively compact, but even a group of 6-7 people could enjoy the hot springs at a comfortable distance. The water is colorless and odorless. It was winter, so we could only enjoy the mountain scenery, but I'm sure it would be even more beautiful in spring, summer, and fall when the trees change color. There's a restaurant next door. It's also a campsite, so it's great to be able to enjoy the hot springs in the evenings or mornings while camping. I'll come again.
The open-air bath with a great view is amazing, and you can soak in it for a long time. The altitude is 700m. Be careful during the heavy snowfall in winter, but the snow scenery is worth seeing.
Alkaline simple hot spring (hypotonic alkaline low-temperature hot spring)
pH 9.3, heated at the source
The destination is located off the main national highway, over Mt. 1, and up the prefectural road alongside the river. There are signs at the forks, so you won't get lost. I visited the hot spring to cool off during the scorching heat down below.
Personally, I had imagined it to be higher (and more difficult), so I was somewhat disappointed and relieved by the access. Unlike down below, a refreshing breeze blows through. The dining area is on the left, and the bathing facilities are on the right. The water temperature was generally lukewarm both inside and outside, and there were some chemicals present. The breeze in the outdoor bath is pleasant, but the sun was intense that day, so I left early and focused on the indoor bath. The water is soft and pleasant. While the location makes it somewhat difficult to access, I think it's a nice, secluded facility. Access by motorcycle was easy from either side, but for those traveling by car, the route from the east is better, as the roads are smoother.
