Kabuyu in Misasa: A ¥400 Local Bath with a Later Monday Opening

Kabuyu is the public bath associated with the beginning of Misasa Onsen. It is a simple, gender-separated bathing stop rather than a resort-style spa: adult entry is ¥400, the bathing room is modest, and the adjacent footbath and drinking spring are separate free facilities. That distinction matters if you are visiting early or only want to stop without changing.

Current price and opening hours

The fee covers the public bath, not a towel or the adjacent footbath facilities.

The association’s current attraction page is the clearest reference for the public bath. An older walking-course page still shows an earlier opening and closing time, so do not use that older schedule to plan a tight morning visit. Confirm current notices before travelling, especially on a holiday or during local maintenance.

A small bath, not a spa complex

Kabuyu is known as the “original” spring of Misasa. The town’s tourism listing describes it as the source of the hot-spring district’s history. Visitors get an indoor public bath and separate changing areas; the listing does not advertise a sauna, outdoor pool or large bathing circuit. Bring your own towel and toiletries unless you have checked what is available for purchase that day.

The tourism association identifies Misasa’s water as a radium-containing spring, but that area-wide description should not be mistaken for a complete analysis of Kabuyu’s bath or a health claim. A spring-source temperature is not the same as the pool temperature. The current visitor listing does not publish a full set of bath-water treatment details, so it is safer not to label Kabuyu definitively as continuously flow-through.

Transcribed figures from an on-site analysis sheet identify Kabuyu’s mixed spring as a simple, mildly radioactive spring, with a source temperature of 51°C and pH 7.2. The association does not currently publish that full sheet online, so treat those as reported source-analysis figures, not a newly verified 2026 pool setting. In particular, 51°C is not the bath temperature. The current public material also does not spell out every treatment step, so do not borrow another Misasa inn’s flow-through claim.

If the bath is too hot for you, take time to acclimatise and leave the pool if you feel unwell. There is no need to treat the source-temperature figure sometimes quoted for Misasa as a target bathing temperature.

Footbath and drinking spring have different hours

You can use the adjoining footbath without entering the bathhouse. It is free and listed as open 8 a.m.–9 p.m., starting at 10 a.m. on Mondays. The drinking spring is also free and listed as open around the clock. They are useful alternatives when Kabuyu is closed or when you do not want a full bath, but drinking from a spring is optional; follow the posted local instructions and do not treat it as medical advice.

Reaching Kabuyu from Kurayoshi

Local buses run from JR Kurayoshi Station to Misasa Onsen. Check the current operator timetable and return service before setting out; once in the district, allow for a walk from the central bus stop to Kabuyu. The car-free Misasa half-day route lays out the bus connection alongside practical bath timing.

If driving, use the designated parking shown in current local access information and do not assume every nearby roadside space is available to visitors. The town’s access page also lists local parking information.

Kabuyu fits three different kinds of day. Pair it with Kurayoshi’s old storehouse district for an easy car-free half-day; after the Mitoku-san visit, treat the hot bath as a short finish rather than a long soak and rest and hydrate first; or walk from Kawara-buro to Kabuyu and finish at the free footbath. The last option lets you decide on site whether the riverside mixed bath feels right, then use Kabuyu for a separate indoor soak. Tattoos are not addressed in the association’s current listing, so ask before making a special trip if that could affect entry.

For a riverside setting, compare Kawara-buro, a free mixed outdoor bath with limited privacy and scheduled cleaning. For more day-use options, see the Misasa bath comparison. Kabuyu is the straightforward pick when you want an inexpensive indoor public bath and are comfortable with a basic local-bath setup.

Official visitor and access information

- [Misasa Onsen Tourism Association: Kabuyu public bath, footbath and drinking spring](https://misasaonsen.jp/sightseeings/sightseeing-1072/) — current admission and hours, children’s fee, address and separate footbath/drinking-spring schedules. - [Misasa Onsen Tourism Association: access and local transport](https://misasaonsen.jp/access/) — routes and parking information. - [Misasa Onsen Tourism Association: Showa-era town walk](https://misasaonsen.jp/course/03/) — context for Kabuyu and a walking route; its older bath hours differ from the current attraction listing. - [Japan Heritage: Kabuyu, Misasa Onsen](https://japan-heritage.bunka.go.jp/ja/culturalproperties/result/1030/) — historical context.

Checked: September 28, 2026