Nyuto Onsen & Lake Tazawa in One Day
A morning by Japan's deepest lake, then milky outdoor baths and beech-forest paths at the old inns of Nyuto Onsen, all by local bus from Tazawako station.
Last updated 2026-09-03 · 1-day self-guided plan
Nyuto Onsen & Lake Tazawa
Blue lake in the morning, white water in the afternoon
For anyone who wants the classic mountain-inn onsen experience without staying overnight, paired with the clearest lake in Tohoku.
1Lake Tazawa shore at Tazawakohan
From Tazawako station on the Akita Shinkansen, the Ugo Kotsu bus reaches the lake at Tazawakohan in about 15 minutes; aim to be there around 9:30. The lake is a near-perfect circle of caldera water over 400 metres deep, and on a still morning the colour shifts from turquoise at the edge to ink in the middle. Bikes can be hired here for the flat 20 km shore road.
1 HourCost: Free- 2
Tatsuko statue and Gozanoishi Shrine
Take the lake-circuit bus or a hired bike around the west shore to the golden Tatsuko statue, the girl of the local legend who was turned into a dragon, standing in the shallows. Continue around to the north shore for Gozanoishi Shrine, whose red torii stands right at the water with the mountains behind. From here the circuit bus returns you to Tazawakohan by midday.
1 HourCost: Free - 3
Tsurunoyu Onsen
The Nyuto Onsen bus climbs about 35 minutes from the lake; Tsurunoyu is the oldest of the seven inns, a row of thatched buildings with a milky-white outdoor bath that is mixed and sits below a wooded slope. Day bathing is a midday-only window and the outdoor bath rests one day a week, so check before you commit. Lunch is mountain-vegetable soba or the inn's yamanoimo nabe hot pot in the old kitchen.
1.5 HoursCost: ¥500–1,000 
4Beech forest path between the inns
Behind the inns a soft trail winds through beech forest, linking Kyukamura, Ganiba and Kuroyu on foot; in June it is deep green, in mid-October gold. Walk it slowly with the bath still warming you, and listen for the stream at the bottom. In deep winter the path is snowed in and the inns are reached by the bus road only.
45 MinutesCost: Free- 5
A second bath at Kuroyu or Ganiba
Each inn has a different water: Kuroyu's is sulphurous with wooden bathhouses under a steam vent, Ganiba's outdoor bath sits alone in the forest across a footbridge. Pick one for a last soak around 15:30, then catch the bus down to Tazawako station in time for an evening Shinkansen; the last bus down leaves well before dark.
1 HourCost: ¥500–1,000
Day 1 Estimated Cost
- Food¥2,000–3,500
- Transport (local buses)¥2,000–3,000
- Baths¥1,000–2,000
Tips
Photograph the bus timetable at Tazawako station before you leave it; the Nyuto buses run only a few times a day and the lake circuit bus fewer still.
Bring slip-on shoes and a small towel: you will take your shoes off at every inn, and day bathers are not always given one.
Eat at the inn where you bathe; the village has no restaurants outside the inns, and most kitchens close mid-afternoon.
No cameras in the baths, ever; the shot to take is Tsurunoyu's thatched roofs from the lane above, best in the low light just before the bath opens.