Mitama no Yu: Sunset Views, Onsen Baths and the Taxi Problem
Mitama no Yu has hillside baths and saunas overlooking the Kofu Basin, but its weekday shuttle ended. Arrange a taxi before travelling by train.
Checked: September 27, 2026
The draw here is the view: Mitama no Yu sits above the Kofu Basin, with outdoor bathing areas facing the surrounding hills and city lights. Its own guide suggests arriving about fifteen minutes before sunset, when daylight gives way to the basin’s evening glow. Check the sunset time for your date rather than relying on a fixed arrival hour.
Give yourself time for the view—and the changing baths
The facility’s two bathing areas, Fuji no Yu and Botan no Yu, switch between men and women daily. Both have indoor and outdoor baths, plus a window-facing sauna and cold plunge. The view changes with weather and visibility, of course; on a cloudy evening, the sauna and bathing facilities are still there, but the basin panorama may not be.
Admission is ¥850 for adults and ¥500 for elementary-school children; younger children enter free. Towels are sold separately: a face towel costs ¥70 and a bath towel ¥130. Shampoo, conditioner, body wash, cleansing products and hair dryers are provided.
The building opens from 10 am to 11 pm, with admission ending thirty minutes before closing. It is generally open year-round apart from several maintenance days.
The spring is a natural brown-colored “moor” spring, classified by the facility as an alkaline simple hot spring. Its current overview lists a source temperature of 44.9°C and a flow of 198 litres per minute. The bathing-water notice is just as useful: no water is added, but the baths are heated, recirculated and filtered, and disinfected with chlorine. Natural spring water does not mean every pool is untreated source water.
The old shuttle is gone; plan the last leg before leaving
Mitama no Yu ended its weekday community shuttle service on April 1, 2025. Kai-Ueno is one nearby rail stop, but the facility warns that it must dispatch taxis from outside the immediate area; driver shortages can mean a wait. Its access page lists about ten minutes by taxi from Kai-Ueno and roughly forty minutes on foot. That walk is a poor fallback in summer heat, rain or after a long soak.
If you are coming by train or highway bus, arrange a taxi in advance and make a return plan too. Do not count on finding a car at the station when you arrive. By car, the venue lists about ten minutes from Kofu-Minami Interchange and fifteen from Masuho Interchange; actual road time varies.
A few rules can change the plan
The facility’s posted rules do not allow tattoos or body art, including painted or sticker designs. People wearing diapers may not enter the bathing water; a baby bath is available. Under Yamanashi’s public-bath rules, children aged seven or older may not bathe with an opposite-sex parent.
Mitama is a strong fit if the view and sauna are worth arranging transport for. With no car and no taxi booked, a station-side bath such as one of the options in the Kofu public-bath guide is easier to work into a city day. If you are choosing between hillside scenery and a more straightforward route, compare the nearby Hottarakashi and Pukupuku baths before you decide.
