Kawayu Onsen, Hongu, Tanabe, Wakayama Prefecture
Kawayu Onsen Public Bath
The strongest low-cost choice for a communal bath in Kawayu. During September high water, treat the public bath as the reliable option rather than planning around the riverside natural bath.
Check before bathing
- Opening hours
- 06:30–20:00; last admission 19:30. Closed Tuesdays. Admission: adults ¥300, children ¥200 and preschoolers ¥80.
- Tattoo policy
- The current first-party information reviewed does not confirm a tattoo policy. Ask before visiting.
Spring & water temperature
- Spring-source temperature
- The facility-specific value is not published. Kawayu Onsen's area reference of 73°C is not assigned to this bath.
- Bathing temperature
- Not published.
- Spring source
- Spring water piped from the sources rising through the bed of the Oto River; the individual source name is not published.
- Spring classification
- The individual public-bath page calls it a simple alkaline spring; the Kawayu area page calls it a sodium bicarbonate-chloride spring. The official descriptions differ, so both are retained.
- pH
- Not published in the current material summarized here.
- Flow rate
- Not published in the current material summarized here.
- Water handling
- The tourism association says the communal bath draws spring water that rises from the riverbed of the Oto River. Current individual pages do not publish water addition, heating, circulation or disinfection conditions for the bath.
Bathing indications
The official page lists bathing indications such as neuralgia and diabetes, and drinking-water indications for digestive conditions and gout. These are not medical treatment guarantees.
Pool-specific water treatment is not published on the current individual page.
On 6 September 2026, the public bath was open as usual, but the river was high and cloudy and the riverside Yakushi-no-Yu could not be used. Check water and weather notices before planning an outdoor river bath.
How to read a bath profile
Spring-source temperature and actual bathing temperature are kept separate. Each score is shown independently for comparison rather than collapsed into one overall score.
