Underrated Onsens in Japan

Hi!

I was wondering what you all thought are the best/most underrated onsens in Japan?

I am hoping to visit the following in winter:
- Kurokawa Onsen
- Kinosaki Onsen
- Kusatsu Onsen
- Ginzan Onsen

What are your thoughts on these places? If you had to just pick 2 of them to visit, which would you choose?

Thanks

it has to be one of this list? those onsens on the list are not underrated, they are among the most famous of japan. if i had to chose among those 4, i would go for Kusatsu Onsen

Not sure why you think any of the onsen are underrated. They are all very well known onsen places.

I personally only have been in Kurokawa Onsen and Ginzan onsen. In both instances the village is similarly nice and I�fd say similarly hard to reach by public transport. I went to both by rental car. But it is possible by bus. Just takes more planning.

The special point about Kurokawa Onsen is all the rotenburos (onsen outside) and there is a pass to visit 3 different ones. In Ginzan onsen I only visited for the day and there is no such pass. There are two public onsen, both don�ft have rotenburo. And from all I understand also the onsen Ryokans aren�ft specialized on rotenburo.

I am personally quite ignorant when it comes to water quality. So can�ft comment on that. But as far as I remember there was at least nothing strange about the water. (I.e it wasn�ft at pH 1 or didn�ft smell terribly bad).

If I had to choose between these two places I�fd go to Kurokawa Onsen, because i am a great rotenburo fan.

If you are interested in other options here my personal list of all onsen I ever visited in Japan. From small sentos, to supersentos to proper onsen towns:

http://bicycletraveljapan.blogspot.com/search/label/Onsen+Practicaliti...

Enjoy the soak!

To be honest, these 4 locations are not underrated onsens.

Kurokawa has reasonable water but it's most famous for it's light up at night. It's a bit difficult to get to via public transport but it's definitely on the tourist trail. Due to the fact that the main road is quite steep - it does not allow for large buses to go down to the bottom so it's not totally over touristy - but it's still very touristy.

Kinosaki is extremely touristy - but it's also very pretty. The water to me is like boiled water - not much to write home about.

Kusatsu onsen has low pH waters and once again is a reasonably touristy town. The jigodani (hell valley) is quite nice though.

I've not visited Ginzan Onsen so cannot comment.

A website I've been meaning to use is here: https://www.hitou.or.jp/en/

Hi.

Kurokawa is a pleasant but tiny town with one or two places to eat. We stayed at a few ryokan there, one was like a little village, possibly the most atmospheric I have been to. Our room had a private rotenburo overlooking a creek. It was very expensive but worth it for a magical experience. Kurokawa doesnt offer much more of interest, you can see the town in 15 minutes. Walks in the surrounding area are nice, especially the bullfroggy rice paddies. The water isnt special. As mentioned it isnt on the train route. Personally I preferred the nearby Yufuin which is a lively town with quite a bit to do in the day.

Kinosaki is a bigger town, it reminds me a little of Takayama. It would take maybe an hour to see most of it if you hustled. You can only have onsen water in the public baths, the ryokan have tap water. The ryokan are good but expensive. Really the highlight of the town is the Japanese onsen hopping. They love it there, it is nice seeing them have fun. I didnt try the public baths so I cant comment on the onsen water. The food in the ryokan that we stayed at was spectacular, and it was good in town as well.

Kusatsu is an interesting town. It has a central plaza where people congregate, it is lively day and night. It is the only place I've been to where I was very comfortable walking around at night in a Yukata. Everyone does it. There are heaps of restaurants, quite a bit to see and do. Seeing the town and surrounds would take a half day easily. The water is spectacular. I didnt find the food particularly special there. It is mega touristy but people are having fun, it is good to see. The water pouring through town is very interesting.

I'd add Yufuin to the list if you are going to Kyushu.

Near Tokyo I'd suggest Bessho Onsen which is a pleasant town, good food, nice water, it is similar in overall feel to Shuzenji.

Those are far from underrated. Kusatsu Onsen always has some of its onsen ryokan listed in the very top-rated in the nation along with many in Gifu Prefecture.

If you are asking in general, I think Yubara Onsen is very underrated and less well-known:
https://www.okayama-japan.jp/en/spot/1085

Some of the famous kokeshi onsen in Tohoku are not so well-known or traveled. Hijiori Onsen is a nice mountain onsen in northern Yamagata (like Ginzan Onsen):
http://kanko-mogami.jp/index.php?key=bb65rhtmy-1110

Rabbityama posts Onsens more of my type :-)

OP: i can suggest you also some really underrated great onsen but i will send you them as personal message. (with the mega increase of tourists and so many people reading this forum, i dont want those places to be spoiled by crowling hordes, so i avoid to post them in public).

@MF4927
Having read abt yr proposed 2 mth trip, Osawa onsen may be of interest. There are 3 accommodation types within the site. Jisuibu is self catered and very inexpensive according to the website.

I stayed at Sansuikaku and had a look at the communal kitchen in Jisuibu. I believe you can rent pots and pans. Otherwise there�fs a small restaurant onsite as well as a grocery store selling souvenirs and basic items like fruit, veg , drinks. Across the street is a super market with limited produce.
There�fll be lots of snow in winter and it�fll be very cold - I�fve no idea if the accommodation at Jisuibu is heated or you need to rent a heater as well.

You can catch a bus from Hanamaki station which is what I did. Sansuikaku does offer a shuttle but not sure if it extends to Jisuibu. The manager speaks very good English and is very helpful.
I used google translate to make my booking.

You can use Osawa onsen as a base to visit historic sites in Iwate such as Hiraizumi , Tono etc
But beware of blizzards. March 2018 , the snow had melted but March 2019 was a different story in Iwate and the west coast& Aomori. Snowstorms and blizzards made it very uncomfortable travelling in Iwate and many surrounding areas. Even Morioka was blizzard out. Trains were cancelled and I resorted to Plan B.

Heaps of information online including buses (limited service or no service in winter) , train (use hyperdia .com to gauge travel times) and hotels provide good Access information.. You just need to do yr research, read reviews, blogs to determine if it�fs of interest.
Then you make your judgement if it is worth a visit or not. Different people have different interests.

Osawa onsen
https://taiken.co/single/osawa-onsen-a-hot-spring-inn-where-you-can-ex...
There�fs a Japanese link to Osawa in the above

Iwate historic places
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Historic_Sites_of_Japan_(Iwate)

If it's just about the water, I'm quite a fan of Tamagawa Onsen but note you'll be surrounded by lots of old people. It's also pretty cool to see lots of people lying on reed matting on the ground outside to be warmed by the volcanics on the ground. However, Kusatsu is probably the closest in acidity and water quality of those mentioned.

I don't know why - but I keep coming back to Ureshino and to some way Takeo Onsen in Saga prefecture. In my opinion, Saga is my favorite in Kyushu for onsens as the water in these two places leaves your skin so smooth and it's not low pH like most of the other places. Call it milky....

When are you looking at going? Long weekends or whenever as some are best visited during certain times, others whenever and some not on a weekend.

Tamagawa Onsen is also one of my favourites! You can walk also to Goshogake from there in which area a lot of cool onsen are (fukenoyu, toshichi onsen)

Tamagawa Onsen is also one of my favourites! You can walk also to Goshogake from there in which area a lot of cool onsen are (fukenoyu, toshichi onsen)

Last February I loved Kaminoyama Onsen, in Yamagata Prefercture! People are nice and the town is awesome.

Yunishigawa Onsen is very nice too, but only in the winter. It is located near Nikko.

Hi!

This is this guy's 6th or 7th thread, they might have posted more.

They're the same person planning 66 days in Japan in the Winter. At first they were thinking January and now they are thinking December going by their other threads. Their budget works out to 12,121 yen all in per day (this is for: food, transport, activities, and accommodation) There are certainly places where a budget like that is fine (big cities like Tokyo or Osaka) but I honestly think for some of the onsen towns between public transport and ryokan/hotel costs it's going to be tough to impossible (I'm looking at you Kurokawa onsen in particular)

You can see their first post here:
https://www.japan-guide.com/forum/quereadisplay.html?0+169497