Attakayu Public Onsen — Local services in Honshu

Wonderful little public onsen deep in the mountains outside of Fukushima city. Admission is 250 yen, but the quality is a steal for the price. The staff were very friendly and helpful, and the facility itself was new, clean, and well maintained.

The bath area itself was fairly small, but the water quality is some of the best I've experienced. There are no amenities, and only three stools to wash up, but the bath itself is not the circulating type, but constantly has fresh water flowing in and old flowing out. The water is on the hot side, probably around 43 degrees, but the color was almost teal and the sulfur deposits were rich. I visited in winter, and the cool mountain wind contrasted with the hot sulfuric water kept me in the bath area for almost two hours.

There is a nice little rest area right at the entrance, with plenty of room to lounge while you wait for your bus or wait to enter the bath again. If you visit for a long period, please bring snacks as there are no convenience stores or food available around the site. I would recommend taking the bus, as the ride up the mountain was almost as enjoyable as the onsen itself (however, please plan your ride carefully!)

Overall, I'm looking forward to...

This onsen was very nice and relaxing and I recommend it to anyone! Entering the bath was 250 yen for an adult and 150 yen for children.

TRANSPORTATION: The bus that runs out to the onsen is few and far between so if you go (only 3 run from the west side of the station throughout the day on weekends and 5 on weekdays), maybe take a picnic to enjoy while you wait for the bus or just plan to stay an evening at one of the other ryokans.

ONSEN: The onsen water is quite sulfuric so you may smell eggy afterwards but not strongly so. The bath is open-air and allows for the breeze to come in a refreshing manner. There's no soap to wash beforehand so if you need some, bring it or purchase it at the counter before entering the bath.

There's a nice area to relax in before or after you are done in the bath, it has vending machines there as well. There is a number of things you can purchase at the front desk like razors and soap, etc.

ACCESSIBILITY: There is an elevator for the way up and down to the onsen and then there are stairs into the bath with railing on either side...

Beautiful and peaceful onsen. It is bus accessible but we had rented a car to go to and from ebisu circuit and this was a relatively short drive away.

The water is blue, hot, and smells is sulfur. The onsen itself was 250 per person, and an additional 1000 yen for the private onsen for 50 minutes, you order your tickets from the vending machine and then book a time for the private onsen through the service window.

Staff was very accommodating to foreigners, they even take note on a chart of visitors nationalities when you enter which was very cute. We seemed to be the first Canadians of the season.

There is also a beautiful foot bath outside and just up the hill behind the parking area that is free.

Just up the road from this we saw monkeys which was very...