Top 10 hotsprings in Japan

Hello people! I'll be spending a month in japan and i have a HUGE interest in hot springs.

Please share with me the BEST of the BEST onsens you have been (awesome scenery + awesome quality). It would be great if you could show me pictures and travelling details!

Here is my personal top 9:

Kusatsu Onsen - best water
Nyuto Onsen Tsurunoyu - best rustic
Kurokawa Onsen - nicest town and great outdoor baths
Beppu Onsen - best variety of baths
Kinosaki Onsen - best nostalgic town
Seni Onsen - best onsen ryokan
Okuhida Onsen - great waters and baths in superb scenery
Sukayu Onsen - most atmospheric indoor bath
Kirishima Onsen - great waters and nice hiking nearby

You can find details on all of them on japan-guide.com.

thankyou for your answer! i will definitely include them into my iterlinary

Dont miss the mud bath in kirishima (sakura sakura hotel especially).

and
Manza onsen which is near kusatsu onsen.

and
Hot Rock bath (Šâ”Õ—�)

Gee, what about Noboribetsu???

Dale

I considered Manza and Noboribetsu for my 10th rank among others, but could not make up my mind.

Whoa! A list of the best hot springs from Uji-sensei! This question gets bookmarked!

Rakuten Travel Ranking
http://travel.rakuten.co.jp/onsen/ranking/

1. Hakone
2. Atami
3. Shirahama
4. Ito
5. Beppu
6. Dogo
7. Kinugawa
8. Kusatsu
9. Nasu
10. Arima

Jalan Ranking
http://www.jalan.net/jalan/doc/etc/onsenranking/onsenranking_index.htm...

thank you all!

i would love to have more ppl sharing their experiences!

Use to live in Gunma for 3 yrs - Kusatsu Onsen is a great place to visit and very famous onsen.
Takaragawa Onsen is my favourite onsen experience with water coming up through the river deep in the forest. Very different experience.
View from Manza Onsen rotenburo Prince Hotel is stunning across the steaming mountains.
Also love Kinosaki Onsen on Tango Pen.- favourite onsen town.
Shibu onsen is quite nice and you can see the 'snow monkey' in nearby Yudanaka at the right time of year.
Have a look at this trip for ideas - http://www.insidejapantours.com/self-guided-japan-holidays/i-hsj/tradi...

Enjoy the onsen - very jealous!

I do find this onsen blog helpfull if I have already an onsen in mind: http://japanport.weblogs.jp/onsen/

As for onsen, I would like to add Oosawa onsen in the famous onsen town of Hanamaki.

For an off the beaten path onsen I recommend Takedao in Hyogo. There is a very nice small ryokan called Koyokan Bettei Azale that only has 12 guest rooms. It is located in a remote valley and will let your mind truly connect with rural Japan. In the summer the outdoor baths (rotenburo) are 29C so much cooler than a normal onsen at 45C. I was there this past August and had a hard time leaving the onsen.