Kamo Onsen in Kyoto: Late-Night Hours, Steam Sauna and Icy Cold Bath
Kamoyu stays open until 3 a.m. Thu–Sat on the association’s Japanese listing. Check its timetable and plan your ride home before a late visit.
Kamo Onsen—often called Kamoyu—is a useful late-night bath if you are staying near Kitaōji or have already arranged a way back after public transport stops. The Kyoto Public Bath Association’s Japanese listing gives regular hours of 3 p.m.–2 a.m., extended to 3 a.m. on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. It closes on the second and fourth Tuesday of the month and every Wednesday.
One detail is easy to miss: the association’s English page lists the ordinary 3 p.m.–2 a.m. hours but does not show the later closing on three nights. The Japanese page is the more complete schedule. Even so, the bathhouse does not publish a separate last-entry time, so do not treat 2:59 a.m. as a safe arrival time.
A late closing only helps if you can get home
Kamo Onsen is at 45 Koyama Nishimoto-chō, Kita Ward. The association lists five parking spaces and marks the bathhouse as a runners’ station. The short walk from Kitaōji Station is manageable during normal service hours; after the final train, station proximity does not solve the return trip. Check the last bus or train in the direction you need, arrange a taxi, or stay within a walkable distance before choosing a 2 or 3 a.m. visit.
The current listing gives these hours:
| Day | Hours |
|---|---|
| Monday | 3 p.m.–2 a.m. |
| Tuesday | 3 p.m.–2 a.m. on the 1st, 3rd and 5th Tuesdays; closed on the 2nd and 4th |
| Wednesday | Closed |
| Thursday–Saturday | 3 p.m.–3 a.m. |
| Sunday | 3 p.m.–2 a.m. |
Admission for adults is ¥550 under Kyoto’s current regulated public-bath tariff. Towels, soap and shampoo are listed as available to rent or buy, but a current accessory price list is not posted on the facility page.
Steam, medicinal water and the ice-drop cold bath
Kamo Onsen’s standout sequence is its steam sauna followed by the cold bath. The association describes ice dropping into the water, an unusual feature among Kyoto sento. There is also an aroma bath, medicinal bath, shallow and deep pools, jet bath and electric bath. The medicinal pool is larger than a single-person tub, making it easier to use with family or friends, though the baths themselves remain separated by gender.
The association does not list an outdoor bath on Kamo Onsen’s current facility page. It also does not publish a legal natural-spring analysis or precise pool temperatures. Treat the ice feature as a cold-bath design, not evidence of a cold natural spring; and do not transfer one visitor’s recorded water temperature to every visit.
If you want a wider comparison of late-closing options, see the Kyoto late-night sento guide. For baths with varied sauna and cold-water setups, the Kyoto sauna-sento guide is more useful than choosing by closing time alone.
What the English listing leaves out
The Japanese and English association pages do not present identical schedules. The Japanese page specifies the Thursday–Saturday 3 a.m. close and the twice-monthly Tuesday closure; the English page shows 3 p.m.–2 a.m. and compresses the closing-day details. If your visit depends on a 3 a.m. close, verify against the Japanese facility listing or call the bathhouse before setting out.
The current listing does not give a tattoo policy or a final admission time. Confirm tattoo access directly if you need certainty. Kamo Onsen is a neighborhood sento with late hours, not an overnight spa: bathing ends at closing and there is no sleeping area listed.
Sources
- Kyoto Public Bath Association: Kamo Onsen (Japanese schedule)
- Kyoto Public Bath Association: Kamo Onsen (English listing)
- Kyoto Prefecture: regulated public-bath admission prices
- Image: Kamo Onsen listing and photo, Kyoto Public Bath Association.
Kamo Onsen / Kamoyu / Kyoto late-night sento / Kyoto steam sauna / Kyoto cold bath / Kita Ward sento
