Yumoto Choseikan Day Visit: Two Baths, Two Separate Tickets
Yumoto Choseikan sells separate day tickets for its hillside outdoor bath and Lake Akaya-facing indoor bath. Check the 80 steps, hours and tattoo policy.
Yumoto Choseikan is easiest to plan around one decision: do you want the hillside open-air bath, or the indoor bath looking towards Lake Akaya? The Minakami Tourism Association lists them as separate day-use options, at ¥600 for adults and ¥300 for children for the open-air bath, or ¥1,000 and ¥500 for the indoor bath. Do not assume one ticket covers both; ask at reception if you want to use both during the same visit.
The outdoor bath is the more distinctive setting, but reaching it means going down—and back up—about 80 steps. The indoor bath offers a different lake view without that hillside staircase. The inn’s official English page also says guests may bathe even if they have tattoos, a useful point to confirm directly rather than extrapolate from other Sarugakyo facilities.
Choose the outdoor bath if the stairs work for you
The open-air bath sits below the main building among cedar trees, with views towards the Tanigawa range and the Akaya River. The tourism association describes it as a 100% natural hot spring flowing through the bath continuously. That refers to how the water is supplied; it does not mean day visitors can enter at any hour.
Reaching the outdoor bath means climbing about 80 steps; there is a handrail, and the inn advises older guests and visitors with mobility difficulties to go with someone. Wet or icy stairs can make the cheaper bath a poor fit. Choseikan has not published a full accessibility description for every indoor route, so ask the inn about step-free access if you need it.
The indoor bath is the easier choice in bad weather
The indoor public bath looks across Lake Akaya and is described by the inn as spacious, with views that change through the seasons. It costs more than the outdoor bath, but it avoids the 80-step slope to that hillside pool and is less exposed to rain, wind and cold.
Choseikan’s operator lists the spring at about 56.5°C and describes its qualities as chloride and sulfate springs. That is source information, not a published temperature for the bathing pools. The inn says its small cold-mineral-spring tub is supplied with spring water, while the main bath is a separate experience; do not read the source temperature as the temperature of every pool.
Day-use hours, prices and towels
The current Minakami Tourism Association listing gives day-use hours of 8 am to 7 pm and lists no regular closing day. Its published prices are:
| Bath | Adult | Child | Practical difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open-air bath | ¥600 | ¥300 | Lower price; about 80 steps down to the bath |
| Indoor bath | ¥1,000 | ¥500 | Lake Akaya view without the outdoor-bath staircase |
The association says towels are for sale, not rent. Bring your own if you want to keep the visit inexpensive. Its listing calls the baths separate price options, but does not explain whether guests can add the second bath after paying for one, so check with the inn before building that into your plan.
The open-air spring is described as flowing continuously, but its 24-hour flow-through system is not a 24-hour visitor admission policy. Day visitors should follow the listed 8 am–7 pm window and check ahead for any temporary changes.
Getting to Choseikan
The inn’s access page describes a bus from Jomo-Kogen Station taking about 25 minutes to the Gakko-shita stop, and a bus from Gokan Station taking about 35 minutes. The 2026 Sarugakyo route timetable published by the local tourism association is valid from 1 April through 15 December. Check both the outbound and return trips for your date; a bath visit is not useful if the last connection leaves before you are ready to go.
By car, the inn’s directions take you from Tsukiyono Interchange onto Route 17 for about 15 km. In winter, allow for mountain-road conditions rather than treating that distance as a fixed travel time.
Tattoo policy and the wider Sarugakyo area
Choseikan’s official English page explicitly says that visitors with tattoos may bathe. That policy applies to this inn; nearby baths set their own rules. For a broader comparison of the area’s day-use choices and transport, see Kawafuru or Sarugakyo Onsen.
