What is the water temperature at Ito Onsen?

The water temperature at Ito Onsen is 25–68°C.

Is Ito Onsen free to enter?

Entry to Ito Onsen costs ¥500.

Are tattoos allowed at Ito Onsen?

Ito Onsen has a mixed or discretionary tattoo policy — contact them directly to confirm.

How do I get to Ito Onsen by train?

The nearest train station to Ito Onsen is Ito Shiyakusho, approximately 0.1 km away.

Public · Indoor & Outdoor · ¥500

Ito Onsen

伊東温泉

68°CPublic BathIndoor & Outdoorchloridesimple-thermal

Official website Report issue

4.2· 2,400 reviewsvia Google

25–68°CWater temp

7.8pH

¥500 (~$4)Entry fee

PublicBathing type

—Opening hours

About this spring

A beach-facing onsen town on the eastern coast of the Izu Peninsula with one of Japan's highest hot spring outputs. Over 1,500 springs deliver roughly 30,000 kiloliters of water daily. Tropical parks, botanical gardens, and palm-lined streets give Ito a resort character that feels different from most onsen towns.

Data: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0) · OpenStreetMap (ODbL)

Highlights

Beachfront outdoor baths
Tropical botanical gardens
High spring water output
Anjin Festival in August

Suitability

Tattoo policy

Policy varies

Children policy

Family-friendly

Altitude

Mineral chemistry

Sodium Chloride (Salt)

Benefits

Sodium chloride springs — essentially natural saltwater baths — are celebrated for their warming and moisturising effects. The salt forms a thin film on the skin after bathing that slows moisture evaporation, keeping skin hydrated longer than a freshwater bath. This "heat-retaining" property means bathers stay warm for significantly longer after leaving the water, making these springs especially popular in winter. Salt springs are among the most accessible for first-time onsen visitors.

Note

Those with high blood pressure or heart conditions should consult a doctor before bathing, as the warming effect increases circulation. Avoid immersing open wounds. The salt will sting slightly in eyes — take care when submerging.

Simple Thermal

Benefits

Simple thermal springs (単純温泉) have a lower dissolved mineral content than other spring types but are valued for the pure therapeutic effect of heat immersion itself. The warmth increases core body temperature, promotes sweating, eases muscle tension, and improves peripheral circulation. Simple thermal springs are the most common onsen type in Japan and are recommended as the gentlest introduction to onsen bathing — suitable for a wide range of health conditions and ages.

Note

Simple thermal springs are the most broadly accessible onsen type. Standard precautions apply: avoid bathing within 30 minutes of eating, keep soaks to 10–15 minutes for first-timers, and hydrate before and after.

History

The springs have been used since the Heian period.

But Ito gained wider attention in the early Edo era for an unexpected reason: in 1604, the English navigator William Adams, who had been granted samurai status by Tokugawa Ieyasu, supervised the construction of Japan's first Western-style sailing vessels at Ito's harbor. The shogunate kept close interest in the town after that. The third Tokugawa shogun formally designated Ito as a recuperation destination. The decisive modern expansion came with the opening of the Ito railway in 1938, placing the town within comfortable reach of Tokyo. Adams is still honored each August in the Anjin Festival.

Local guide

Take the JR Tokaido Line out of Tokyo to Atami, change to the Ito Line, and after twenty-five minutes more you arrive at Ito Station on the edge of the Izu Peninsula. The air is different here even before you step outside. The palm trees along the road to the waterfront were planted to match the subtropical latitude, and the town has a loose, beach-resort feeling that sits oddly alongside traditional onsen culture. In most hot spring destinations the thermal water is the defining feature. In Ito it is just one thing among several, because the earth beneath this peninsula produces spring water in larger quantities than almost anywhere else in Japan.

Thirty-three thousand liters per minute is the figure that gets quoted about Ito's combined spring output, which places it among the highest-volume onsen towns in the country. The water drawn from under the city is a sodium-chloride type, pH 7.8, neutral enough that it causes no particular sensation on entry, no sting, no smell. It sits clear and hot, slightly saline, and warms the skin evenly without the metallic edge you find in iron springs or the faint bite of sulfur springs. After twenty minutes in an Ito bath your skin tends to feel clean in a straightforward way, the chloride working as a mild preservative against heat loss, keeping you warm after you step out.

The Jogasaki Coast, about ten minutes south of town, was formed four thousand years ago when lava flowed from Mount Omuro into the Pacific Ocean and the waves spent the following centuries shaping it into a nine-kilometer stretch of vertical black cliffs, sea caves, and collapsed lava tubes. The coastal trail runs the length of it, and the 48-meter Kadowaki Suspension Bridge crossing one section of the gorge is the kind of thing that makes your legs feel hollow for a moment. Ito is one of the few places where you can hike along UNESCO-recognized volcanic coast in the morning and be in a proper hot spring bath before lunch.

The Tokugawa shogunate used Ito as a rest stop during the Edo period, a pattern that continues in a looser way today: weekend trains from Tokyo fill up early, and by Saturday afternoon the smaller public baths near the station have queues. Come on a Tuesday, walk the cliff trail, eat grilled fish near the pier, soak until the evening train. It is not a complicated place to enjoy.