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大分県

A Full Tour of a Traditional Japanese Onsen (Hot Spring)



A Full Tour of a Traditional Japanese Onsen (Hot Spring)

Hey there. Good afternoon. How’s it going? Today is Thursday, November 27th, 2025. Happy Thanksgiving. It is currently 62° Fahrenheit. That is 17° C. Pretty uh warm here. And so, uh I wasn’t planning on filming a video today. Was going to just uh relax in a traditional Japanese onen, but I got here and this place is amazing and there’s nobody else in here at the moment. So, I decided to uh go ahead and take advantage of this opportunity to show you an onen, which I couldn’t do in the past. I’ve been to other onens in Japan, but uh they are usually separated gender, an area for men, area for women, and so no uh swimsuits are being worn by people. And even if people did have swimsuits on, still it’s a very private space and not uh good for walking around with a camera. So wanted to go ahead and capture this while I have the opportunity. And then also I will walk around the grounds of this uh Rioan Resort called Yamano Hotel. So, a riyocon is a traditional Japanese inn which could have rooms and restaurant and then also possibly an onen. So, a Ryokon an onen would be with the onen. And so, this is a Ryokon onen and it is really really beautiful. Amazingly uh well constructed. Looks a bit older. No idea how old, but uh anyways, let’s uh get the uh tour started while nobody else is in here. First thing, let’s check the temperature. I haven’t gone in there yet. And uh see how hot it feels. Yeah, it’s warm. It doesn’t feel super hot. Very pleasant, but uh just a beautiful design of this uh pool. all the rock and wood. And then with the trees and the autumn colors and then out there is the town of Yuen Anen where I’ve been for the past uh couple nights. So this is the area where people would uh shower and so it is traditional in Japan to have this sit down shower thing. And so you sit on there, use the uh shower nozzle and spray yourself. There’s soaps and everything. And then here, water to I guess just wash your hands. I’m not sure if that’s supposed to be drinking water there. But uh the style is just so simple yet uh beautiful. Now I want to uh give a tour of the resort here. So all in Japanese, but uh actually there’s one English word ban ban. So whatever that means. But uh I haven’t uh explored around this uh resort other than just walking down here. So let’s go for it. Okay. It looks like this is the uh women’s onen. Looks like this might be a path going away from the uh resort. Wow. Definitely feeling like fall. Yeah. So, this is going somewhere down like that into that neighborhood. So, I’m not staying at this resort and so I can’t show you the rooms. But, uh, there you can see, looks like, uh, nice rooms. I will put the prices that I’m finding on Booking.com down below here. More paths going in various directions. Farmer’s fields, I guess. So, what is this? It says vacant. Okay. I’m sure if you turn it around it will say occupied or full or whatever. Yep. Occupied. Okay. Since it says vacant, we can take a look. What have we got here? Oh, looks like that one is locked. Okay. Maybe it’s a uh private uh little tub. It must be maybe you have to reserve it in advance or something. I think that’s uh Oh, okay. Again, vacant. Ooh, wow. Okay, here we go. Wow, that is so nice. I might have just uh not uh used the door latch properly on the other one because it’s not a twist. It’s like a move to the side thing. So again, here you have the uh showering off area. Very very nice. and then here you get a good idea of uh the wooden construction. That uh fence looks like it’s made from flutes, bamboo obviously, and then nice wooden tables and benches. Restaurant down that way. Let’s uh try to see what this is. Oh, maybe this is the restaurant. Everything’s closed at 3:00 in the afternoon. And then I guess uh probably down to the rooms here. Actually, that says restaurant and restaurant unkai user. So, I don’t know if maybe that’s something else there. I’m assuming these are rooms in here. Restaurant here. Nice stone work here. I’m assuming these must be rooms 512. Look at this table here. What a great spot. Wow. With the three different ways to get up here. There, there, there. Just gorgeous. And then here you have what I guess is a personal dining area. So you have the uh vending machines only with drinks and ice cream. And then this area with tables. Again, all wood. Love it. And a nice view blocked by pretty trees. And then I guess more rooms here. Wow. What is this thing for? A fish and a big piece of bamboo, I guess. And then it looks like this is the parking lot for the resort with an absolutely epic view of Yuen Anen. So where I’m staying is out there somewhere, maybe a 30 minute walk or so. And then I think that is Mount Eufen. Really lovely hot springs, mountain town and valley here. Looks like these are tapped into the hot water because an onen necessarily means that they’re using natural geothermal hot water. If they’re just heating up regular, you know, tap water, then it’s called a sento. And so here there is natural geothermal water and so many onens. And so this is in fact an onson, not a sento. You can see the uh tank steaming away. Okay, that is going to do it for today’s video. I have uh my plans for tomorrow already uh in place. Taking a bus to Nagasaki. Really looking forward to seeing that city. So uh my last uh day here in Yuen and then uh tomorrow bus I would have preferred to have taken a train but uh it was full. So uh it will be like a 3 and 1/ half hour bus ride something like that. All right. So, I’m back in the uh pedestrian zone of Euin. I’ve shown this street already in previous videos, but as I discussed then this street completely dies in the evening very early. I went out I think at 6:15 and it was a complete and total ghost town even that early. So I guess most of these visitors are here for the day coming from various cities on Kyushu Island by bus and so you literally cannot find an open restaurant here for dinner. So today I am thinking ahead and going to uh save myself from having to uh make the uh long walk down towards the train station and order something takeout. It’s only 3:30 in the afternoon. So uh I will take it back to my hotel which is nearby and they have a microwave there and heat it up later. So the big question then is what to get with so many choices. Certainly the uh burgers there were sounding good, but burger in the fridge and then microwaved later doesn’t really work. So, uh, we have many, many other options. Looks like this is sweet stuff. And also, I just went to 7-Eleven and bought my breakfast stuff for tomorrow on the bus because the bus leaves at 10:30 and so I will probably end up eating breakfast on the bus. So, I’ll show what I got for breakfast. A couple of different items than usual. Okay. What is this? This looks like something that might be microwavable later. Okay. It’s all in Japanese, but uh that looks very hearty. Looks like I guess beef and egg and onions. Okay, this is definitely something a little different. Now, that one is 1,500. Is that maybe a full meal? Cuz that seems a bit expensive. That one’s only $400. So, that’s like $2.50. That’s like $10. Unless that’s really big. I could take out my phone, do a translation, but I can kind of get the idea. Looks like it’d be good just to uh get a few of these and give them a try. And then real quick before I order here, I will show what I got for breakfast. So, one of these classic 7-Eleven sandwiches, egg, tomato, potato salad, and ham. And then broccoli, deep fried tofu, sesame, and mayonnaise. That sounds quite good. blueberry yogurt, another of these really tasty puddings, and macaroni, bacon, vegetables, and mayonnaise. That is going to be a hearty breakfast. And so I got four different ones. A beef curry, chicken, tomato cheese, and sweet potato. So, uh, looking forward to trying these. It came to 1,410 yen. That is $9 US. and got it take out. There we go. So, I’m trying to gauge if that is going to be enough there. They are kind of two or three bites each, but uh I think that is going to do the trick. Otherwise, I have snacks at the room if needed. So, uh, here we are back at the Fenz Gelato Shop and then the Euphin Floral Village and Cheshure Cats Forest and Owls Forest. So uh down in here a very cute and creative uh little manufactured village with various animals. So we have squirrels. Hello there. Oh, wow. That one’s running. All right. And then guinea pigs. and ducks and goat. Goats. Hey guys, I won’t tease you with my uh tasty smelling whatever they are. Yeah, I’m sure you’d love to nibble on that. Hello. And look at all the colors. And then my hotel is literally right over there. One of those buildings. All right, that is going to do it for Euphin Hotring Mountain Paradise Town. Next, Nagasaki. Looking forward to it. See you. Oh, wow. Thank you. Thank you so much. All right, just to be on the safe side, went with whatever this is. I’m not even sure if it’s chicken or what. Went with honey mustard. And it’s literally honey and mustard. like he really drenched it in honey. So that is going to be interesting. I’ll find out what it tastes like later. Hotel back here. All right, that is all for now. More coming from Japan.

A tour of a traditional Japanese onsen and ryokan in Yufuin Onsen, a small town on Kyushu island in southern Japan.
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Music during the video (in order):

“Mysteries of the Forest” by Calm Shores
&
“Night Music” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
&
“Universe of the Dolphins” by Trace Way

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Video created by Gabriel Morris, who is the owner of all video or photo content. Filmed with a DJI Osmo Action.

Gabriel is a budget traveler, outdoors enthusiast and travel writer who has been adventuring around the world since his first trip to Europe in the summer of 1990 when he was 18 years old. He is author of “Following My Thumb”, “Gabe’s Guide to Budget Travel” and several other books.

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50 Comments

  1. @TravelersThreadErin

    10:46 traditional indoor fire pit, used for keeping warm and cooking in a home, often cook fish over it. There’s a vent for the smoke, and an adjustable pothook to hang kettles or pots over the fire.

  5. @Tydrix

    The last food looks like karage (fried chicken) on a stick.
    Nagaski was alright. Kind of a sleepy quite small city from my experience. Gunkanjima is only accessible via their guided tour which is a bummer.
    Maybe if you go further west to Goto island.

    Gabe, a friendly fyi when you're in small/mid sized cities, some of the better restaurants are in department stores like Youme or Aeon malls.

  7. @japankofun

    Part of the onsen experience is to be served dinner at your accomodation (ryokan) which is usually a pretty extravagant traditional (and expensive) meal, so much so that it seems to equal the appeal of the bathing itself from what I've heard from locals (e.g. Japanese ex-wife's parents would look forward to the dinner all day). Plus, the typical Japanese onsen lover tends to be of the older generation. That explains your quiet nights outside.

  8. @ChrisNortonsHittingClub

    Wow, didn't know about the au natural aspect of onsens. That leaves me out. The experience would be a "micro"cosm of my general public shyness. 😅

  11. @wilfredotorres6628

    Hi Gabriel, I thoroughly enjoy the trip to the Yufuin Onsen. I don't think most tourists know about this location; it looks like something off the beaten path. Going to Nagasaki is going to be quite an experience. The prefecture is also known for its Christian heritage. Hidden Christian communities survived centuries of persecution, and their cultural legacy can still be seen in historic churches and settlements, several of which are recognized as UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

  13. @allthebadmen

    Greetings from Greece. Japan's one of my favourite countries. Wish to visit someday! 👍👌🇬🇷🇯🇵

  15. @thewanderer3341

    Cool video Gabe 😊 awesome Onsen scenery, unfortunately I could never use it as my body is covered in tattoos 😜 they'll probably associate me with the Yakuza 😂 have you tried kento self heating lunch/dinner boxes ? Pull the cord & it self heats 😊 safe travels dude 👋🏼

  16. @RobBeMe

    Onsen & Sento in my wheel house > good stuff Gabriel > would be interested to learn if float tanks (aka sensory deprivation tanks… featured in the Cult classic "Altered States" back in the day) are a thing in Japan & if so what's the hourly price point > in Bangkok I can only locate 1 facilty (conveniently located near the Skytrain) & the price is 1/2 that of what's being charged in California.

  19. @darrylk808

    Is this a trespassing video?😂
    I hate hot Onsens. I once went to a private one, like the one you showed. I showered and threw the shower head into the Onsen, blasting cold water, to make it luke warm. Perfect!👍

  21. @romeyDog21

    Tbh, I think a lot of us are waiting for an update on Squirrel. Obs, don’t confess to a squirrel crime but perhaps just respond back with a squirrel emoji if you became that squirrels hero.

  27. @stevenlapidus2902

    Gabriel- Nice video. I was wondering why you would not have just paid the $145 to fully experience the Ryokun/ Onsen rather than doing it a little bit on the sly the way you did it. It seems that this would have been more the more authentic way. Thanks.

  29. @pixel325

    Really neat little gem and such a lovely landscape around the town. The food looked good and looking forward to seeing the next video!

  34. @JennyGunner-ge3lz

    Thank you for the tour of the onsen resort, so peaceful and relaxing. The grounds and surrounding views of the town just beautiful. Well worth the visit. Cheers. 😊❤

  36. @kitarrowJP

    You went to Yufuin during the best season!

    In Nagasaki, I recommend trying champon, squid, and castella

  44. @CB-sx8xh

    I just watched a recent video on the NHK world channel about Nagasaki 🙂 I will be interested to see your experience there!

  45. @東京在住本旅さん

    次は長崎なのですね。
    長崎は江戸時代に日本が鎖国をしていた時代に、函館と並んで外国からの客人が入国した数少ない場所です。

    見どころは、出島、稲佐山、グラバー園、原爆資料館、中華街、等、たくさんあります。
    しかし、軍艦島（端島）へ行くことはお勧めしません。
    船が揺れますし、島に上陸することができないかも知れないからです。

    長崎の動画も楽しみにしています。

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