Shirahone Onsen, Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture
Awanoyu Day-Use Bath
The standout choice for couples or families who want to try Shirahone's famous milky mixed-gender open-air bath and still have indoor pools. Call on the day before travelling: day-use admission may be suspended at short notice.
Check before bathing
- Opening hours
- Day-use reception 10:30–13:30; leave by 14:00. In September 2026, the ryokan warned that unstable fuel supply could trigger temporary closures and asked day visitors to call on the day.
- Tattoo policy
- The current first-party information does not confirm a tattoo policy for day visitors. Check with the ryokan before visiting.
Spring & water temperature
- Spring-source temperature
- 37.3°C, from the ryokan's 26 June 2007 analysis.
- Bathing temperature
- About 37°C in the lukewarm pool, about 40°C in the hot pool, and around 37–40°C in the large open-air bath depending on outdoor temperature.
- Spring source
- Shin-Awanoyu spring.
- Spring classification
- Hydrogen-sulfide-type calcium-magnesium bicarbonate spring containing sulfur.
- pH
- Not published in the current material summarized here.
- Flow rate
- Not published in the current material summarized here.
- Water handling
- The ryokan describes the water as source-flowing. The lukewarm pool uses water close to source temperature, while the hot pool is warmed through a heat exchanger. The large open-air bath and some pools may be heated, or partially heated, depending on outdoor conditions and comfort; treatment is not identical across every pool.
- Analysis date
- 2007-06-26
Bathing indications
The ryokan lists general and spring-type bathing indications. These are not treatment promises for conditions such as high blood pressure or diabetes.
Treatment varies by pool: the lukewarm bath stays close to source temperature; the hot bath uses a heat exchanger; the large open-air bath and some other pools may receive partial or full heating depending on conditions.
Day-use admission is ¥1,000 for adults and ¥600 for children aged 3 through elementary school. It includes the shared mixed-gender open-air bath and the indoor and outdoor baths separated by gender, but not the free bathing garment provided to overnight guests. Small towels cost ¥200 and bath towels ¥800.
How to read a bath profile
Spring-source temperature and actual bathing temperature are kept separate. Each score is shown independently for comparison rather than collapsed into one overall score.
