January 15 2025

The Most Unique Onsen Town in Japan

around.the.world.in.flip.flops Asia, Japan 1

There are so many bucket list experiences to have in Japan and one of them is going to an onsen. An onsen is a traditional japanese hot spring and there are beautiful onsen towns all over Japan. They are usually very picturesque towns in the japanese countryside and the one that I’m going to write about on this article is the most unique of them all.

Shibu Onsen

Nestled in the mountains of Nagano Prefecture, this sleepy onsen town is a really great addition to your Japan itinerary if you want to explore a truly picturesque side of the country.

Shibu Onsen has a History of 1300 years and cosy cobblestone streets that will instantly make you fall in love with it. The buildings are typically japanese and the atmosphere is really quiet, with only locals and a few tourists wearing yukatas to walk from onsen to onsen.

The streets of Shibu Onsen are really quiet and peaceful

There are 9 traditional onsen baths spread around the small town of Shibu Onsen and each of them is said to have special properties to cure specific diseases – read more about it here. They are all very traditional and, except for bath number 9, the baths are all very small and can take only fit a couple of people at a time, making it an even more intimate and unforgettable experience.

There is something that makes them extra special though: they are locked and can only be opened with a special key.

That is a really unique system that I have never seen in any other onsen town in Japan. It makes Shibu Onsen feel like some kind of mysterious town that most tourists haven’t discovered yet.

Here is how it works: all the locals living in Shibu Onsen have keys to open the 9 onsens, so all they need to do when they want to relax in one of them is to take their key and enter. It might sound like this system leaves tourists unable to enter the famous onsens but don’t worry, there is a way and I will explain you everything you need to know about it.

Shibu Onsen has a very unique system for their public onsens

If you go to Shibu Onsen as a tourist and want to visit the 9 onsens, you will need a special key as well. There is only one way you can get it: by staying at one of Shibu Onsen’s ryokans.

That’s because ryokans have keys to give out to their guests, allowing them to enter the baths and enjoy the full experience of Shibu Onsen. But in order to receive that key and have that experience, you need to make sure you don’t make the same mistake as me.

When I visited Shibu Onsen, I booked my stay at Maruka Ryokan and loved it as soon as I got there.

The ryokan was super traditional and even a bit run-down, which only gave it even more charm; the owners were the sweetest old japanese couple who could barely speak any english but tried their hardest and were really friendly.

I could barely believe I got a huge traditional japanese room to myself, a view to a temple and even a yukata. But barely did I know that I was about to become very disappointed.

My stay at Maruka Ryokan started out well but turned into a big disappointment

The problem started when I asked for the key to the 9 public onsens. The owners promptly informed that I couldn’t get one, because Maruka Ryokan is not in Shibu Onsen.

I was confused because I was just travelled to Shibu Onsen and knew for a fact that I was there, so I just assumed that it was a lost in translation kind of situation.

Except it wasn’t. After a while, I understood the mistake I had made: I booked a ryokan in the surroundings of Shibu Onsen, which means it didn’t officially belong to Shibu Onsen.

Long story short, there is a list of really central ryokans in this town that belong to the Shibu Onsen Ryokan Association and those ryokans are the only ones that will grant you a key to the 9 onsens when you stay with them. All other ryokans in the town’s surroundings or not belonging to that association, will not be able to give you a key and then you will have no way of visiting the 9 public onsens.

📢 TIP: choose a ryokan from the list linked above and email them to confirm that you can get a key to the 9 public onsens while staying with them.

The most beautiful and famous of all those ryokans is Kanaguya: a breathtaking building that looks like something straight out of a Giblin movie. It’s definitely not a cheap stay but it might be worth the splurge, since staying in a traditional ryokan is one of the best bucket list experiences to have in Japan.

Kanaguya (on the left) is the most beautifil ryokan in Shibu Onsen

It might sound like the 9 traditional onsens of Shibu Onsen are the only thing to see in this beautiful japanese town, but that’s far from the truth.

Besides walking around the town and taking in the picturesque atmosphere of locals and visitors going from place to place wearing their yukatas, make sure you take some time to relax in one of the several foot baths you can find around Shibu Onsen.

This town is so underrated and undiscovered that I was alone for the longest time at all the foot baths I found, even though I was visiting during Sakura season (aka Japan’s highest of the high seasons).

The foot baths of Shibu Onsen are really relaxing and picturesque

Apart from enjoying the unique thermal waters of Shibu Onsen, make sure you walk alongside the river that runs by the town. Watching the Yokoyu river flowing by so peacefully in such a beautiful rural setting was one of the most special and unforgettable sights of my whole trip in Japan.

Walking alongside the river is one of the best things to do in Shibu Onsen

I hope this article convinced you that Shibu Onsen is well worth a visit and that you should add it to your Japan itinerary. This side of Japan is a true hidden gem that many tourists skip. The fact that it’s still so underrated means that visitors can experience a side of Japan that most people never get to see.

If you need more help and inspiration to plan your trip to Japan, don’t forget to check my free travel guides 👇🏼