Seven Experiences in One Onsen Town: Walking Onogawa Onsen
- 投稿日：
- 2026年10月24日
Onogawa Onsen is a hot spring town with 1,200 years of history. It sits in the mountains of Yonezawa, in Yamagata Prefecture. Thirteen inns and small shops line its streets. It is a small town, and you can walk everywhere.
One way to enjoy this town is the “Onogawa Onsen Seven Experiences Tour.” Six places in the hot spring town offer seven different experiences. Your ticket is valid for two days. You can take your time, on the day you arrive and the next day.
It starts at Suzu no Yado Tofuya Ryokan
You can book on KKday’s “Onogawa Onsen Seven Experiences Tour” page. On the day of your booking, exchange it for your ticket at the entrance of Tofuya Ryokan. Your walk through the town starts there.
1. Rent a yukata and walk the town (Kajikaso)
Rent a yukata and an obi sash, and walk around the hot spring town. There are yukata for men and for women. In Japanese onsen towns, strolling in a yukata is a long-loved way to enjoy the town. You can return it by checkout the next day.
2. Taste Yamagata sake (Azumaso)
Choose four of eight Yamagata sakes and taste them side by side. The snack is Yonezawa beef salami. If you do not drink alcohol, you can choose homemade pudding and amazake, a sweet rice drink, from a koji maker in Yonezawa.
3. A stone bath warmed by the hot spring (Takasagoya Ryokan)
Lie down in a room of stones warmed by the heat of the hot spring, and let your body warm up slowly. You can stay up to 90 minutes. A towel and a samue (traditional Japanese loungewear) are provided.
4. Paint a bell (Tofuya Ryokan)
Tofuya is known as “Suzu no Yado,” the inn of bells, because a former okami (landlady) collected bells. Bells are said to “invite good fortune and keep away the troubles of travel.” You paint whatever you like on a white clay bell about the size of a tennis ball. Once it dries, you can take it home.
5. Make onsen eggs in the hot spring (Tofuya Ryokan)
Make onsen eggs, softly cooked in the hot spring water of Onogawa. You make nine eggs and eat one on the spot. The other eight go into a box for you to take home as a souvenir.
6. Make a nenju with hokutolite (Kinoene Daikokuten Honzan)
At a temple, you thread natural stone beads onto a cord to make a nenju (a bracelet of stone beads). Hokutolite is a stone born in Hokuto Onsen in Taiwan. Yonezawa City has ties with Hokuto Onsen. This experience needs a reservation, so check for openings early.
7. Swirl your own soy milk soft-serve (Sato Tofu Shop)
At a local tofu shop, you swirl your own soy milk soft-serve from the machine. It is made with “Hiden,” a Yamagata soybean. You also get a souvenir cup.
Your reward for all seven
When you finish all seven experiences, you can choose one reward: the “Hiryozu mini ramen” at Ryuge Shokudo, or the “dragon goshuin” (a temple’s commemorative stamp) at Kinoene Daikokuten.
A town you can enjoy without a ticket
The onsen town has three foot baths and two drinking fountains, all free and open to everyone. Both are open from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.
When your legs get tired, take off your shoes and rest your feet in the hot spring water. Onogawa’s water is neutral, and you can even drink it.
As you walk, you may meet cats. The cats of Onogawa Onsen are “community cats.” The whole town looks after them through the “Onogawa Onsen Happy Cat Project.”
Tips for your walk
- Each experience has its own hours. For example, the stone bath runs from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., and nenju making ends at 4 p.m.
- Some experiences, such as nenju making, need a reservation. After you book, send your preferred times through KKday’s messages.
- The experiences are guided in Japanese.
- Book at least two days ahead. On some days, booking may not be possible because of the facilities’ schedules.
Soak, walk, and soak again
The pleasures of Onogawa Onsen are not only inside the inn. Walk the town in a yukata, taste the sake, make something with your own hands, and then soak in the hot spring again. Take two days and get to know the daily life of this small town.
Onogawa Onsen town map
