Motoyu Honda: Coffee-Coloured Onsen Near Mikawa Station

Checked: September 27, 2026 Motoyu Honda is a handy stop if you are travelling between Kanazawa and Komatsu by rail and want a bath without a car. The walk from Mikawa Station is about ten minutes, admission is ¥490 for adults, and the water has a distinctive coffee-brown colour. The inn’s own spring and the walkable location are the reasons to come; this is a neighborhood sento, not a resort spa.

Admission and weekly schedule

Hakusan City tourism lists the public bath at ¥490 for adults, ¥300 for junior-high students, ¥130 for elementary-school children and ¥50 for children aged five and under. It is open from 10 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. and generally closes on Wednesdays. The inn’s own site says it opens on a Wednesday public holiday; Ishikawa’s tourism listing says the following day is then a closure day. If your visit falls in a holiday week, check Thursday as well.

The city’s tourism listing says the family bath is closed for the time being. Some generic property descriptions still mention a family bath, but it is not something to build a day trip around. The sauna appears in the city’s current booking plan for the public bath; check the booking page or call if access to it is the deciding factor.

What the coffee-brown water means

Hakusan City calls this a “moor spring,” a local description for water containing organic matter of plant origin. It comes from the property’s own spring. The Japan Spa Association’s facility listing classifies the water as a chloride spring and displays a source temperature of 31.9°C. No recent analysis date is shown there, so treat the number as a catalogue reference rather than a current measurement. It also does not tell you the bathing-pool temperature.

“Natural spring” and “untreated flow-through bath” are different claims. The public pages do not explain the heating, circulation or disinfection method for each pool. If you only want a distinctive local spring and a warm bath, that may not affect your choice. If your requirement is a fully flow-through bath, ask the operator about the current setup.

The walk from the train

Mikawa Station is served by IR Ishikawa Railway. From Kanazawa, the current adult fare to Mikawa is ¥370; the public bath is around a ten-minute walk from the station. By car, the prefectural tourism listing estimates about three minutes from Mikawa IC, though its local page gives a more conservative ten-minute estimate. The station walk is the simpler planning figure if you are travelling without a car.

Bring your own wash kit if you want to shower; amenity availability is unconfirmed. Motoyu Honda also offers accommodation, while the details here cover its public bath.

If you are visiting on a Wednesday, check Yasumaru no Yu instead; it closes on Fridays. The Motoyu Honda vs Yasumaru comparison covers both schedules and their different spring descriptions. For a separate bath elsewhere in Hakusan, Kobo no Yu at Bird Humming Torigoe is another day-use option.

Sources and image credits

- [Motoyu Honda official website](https://r.goope.jp/mikawaonsen/) and [Hakusan City tourism listing](https://www.urara-hakusanbito.com/spot/detail_1264.html) — hours, prices, station walk and family-bath closure. - [Hakusan City day-use booking plan](https://www.urara-hakusanbito.com/program/plan.html) — current sauna plan. - [Japan Spa Association: Motoyu Honda](https://www.spa.or.jp/search_f/detail_f/?F_ID=602) and [Ishikawa tourism listing](https://www.hot-ishikawa.jp/spot/detail_6539.html) — spring description, admission and access. - [IR Ishikawa Railway: Kanazawa fares](https://www.ishikawa-railway.jp/station/kanazawa/). - Image: [Motoyu Honda official website](https://cdn.goope.jp/157365/200207204334hafh_l.jpg), retained from the original guide.

Tags: Motoyu Honda, Mikawa Onsen, Hakusan, Ishikawa, moor spring, day-use bath