Onsen in Kyoto
14 hot springs, 2 of which will take you with a tattoo, and 7 where you can bathe without staying the night.
Onsen towns in Kyoto
Narrow it down
Tattoos are fine here
Ryokan you can visit just for the bath
No overnight stay required.
Kurama Onsen
SPA & HOTEL Suisyun Matsui-Yamate
Keizankaku
Sumiya Kihoan
Syoenso Hozugawatei
Kyoto Keburikawa
Kumihama Onsen Yumotokan
Ranked by what you are after
We score every onsen the same way — the view from the water, the water itself, comfort, how far it sits from a town, and how easy it is to reach — then weight those differently depending on what you want.
Best for the view
What you can see from the water.
- ShotenkyoVisited4.0
- Sumiya KihoanVisited3.8
- Kumihama Onsen YumotokanVisited3.8
- Kurama OnsenVisited3.6
- Kyoto KeburikawaVisited3.6
- Syoenso HozugawateiVisited3.4
- Kyoto Yunohana Resort SuisenVisited3.3
- KeizankakuVisited2.9
Best water
For people who care what is actually in the bath.
- Kumihama Onsen YumotokanVisited4.3
- Sumiya KihoanVisited4.1
- Kyoto KeburikawaVisited3.9
- ShotenkyoVisited3.9
- KeizankakuVisited3.8
- Syoenso HozugawateiVisited3.7
- Kyoto Yunohana Resort SuisenVisited3.6
- Kurama OnsenVisited3.4
Easiest to reach
Get there and back without renting a car.
- SPA & HOTEL Suisyun Matsui-YamateVisited4.9
- Kyoto Arashiyama Onsen KadenshoVisited4.6
- Sagano Onsen Tenzan no YuVisited4.5
- Kurama OnsenVisited4.1
- Mibu Onsen Hanano-yuVisited4.1
- Kyoto Arashiyama Onsen Fufu no YuVisited3.7
- Sumiya KihoanVisited3.4
- Kyoto KeburikawaVisited3.4
Every onsen we have checked in Kyoto
Kurama Onsen
SPA & HOTEL Suisyun Matsui-Yamate
Keizankaku
Sumiya Kihoan
Syoenso Hozugawatei
Kyoto Yunohana Resort Suisen
Kyoto Keburikawa
Kyoto Arashiyama Onsen Fufu no Yu
Kyoto Arashiyama Onsen Kadensho
Arashiyama Benkei
Sagano Onsen Tenzan no Yu
Mibu Onsen Hanano-yu
Kumihama Onsen Yumotokan
Shotenkyo
Planning a trip to Kyoto
The links below are affiliate links — we may earn a commission if you book through them, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what we list or how we score it.
About the day-pass link: Asoview is the main place day-use onsen in Japan sell entry tickets and discount coupons in advance. It is a Japanese-only site, so use your browser’s translation — you show the ticket on your phone at the door.
Why not the train: the last leg to an onsen is usually a local bus with nowhere to put a suitcase. A fixed-price car is booked in English and quoted before you travel, tolls and fuel included.
