Travelers pick their favorite spots for a springtime soak.

It’s hard to think of a better way to enjoy a day in Japan than by admiring cherry blossoms…but then again, taking a nice, long soak in an open-air onsen (hot spring) bath is also pretty hard to top. So rather than spend time trying to figure out which is the more quintessential Japanese experience, why not do both at the same time?

To help us do just that, Japanese travel website Jalan has compiled a list of the top 10 outdoor onsen with sakura views, as chosen via a survey of the site’s users. With the cherry blossoms already starting to bloom, there’s no time to waste, so let’s dive right in.

10. Kurama Onsen (Kyoto City, Kyoto Prefecture)
Best sakura viewing time: Early April
Website

Tucked away in the mountains north of down Kyoto City, the non-sakura forests of Mt. Kurama make for a contrasting background as the cherry blossoms visible from the bath unfold their pink petals.

9. Iwakuni Kokusai Kanko Hotel (Iwakuni, Yamaguchi Prefeture)
Best sakura viewing time: Early April
Website

Located just a three-minute walk from the majestic five-arched Kintai Bridge, Iwakuni Kokusai Kanko Hotel’s open-air bath offers a view of the cherry blossoms that line the far shore of the Nishiki River (and should you be craving a sweet snack after you get out of the bath, you’re only a short walk from one of the most unique ice cream stands in all of Japan).

8. Uesugi Onsen Gotenmori (Nanyo, Yamagata Prefecture)
Best sakura viewing time: Mid-April to early May
Website

In addition to stretching out in the bath and gazing up at the boughs of the sakura trees in Eboshiyama Park (voted one of the 100 best cherry blossom viewing venues in Japan), this inn also has a courtyard hot spring foot bath where you can see the blossoms while remaining clothed from the ankles up.

7. Nansuikaku (Miyakawa, Fukuoka Prefecture)
Best sakura viewing time: Late March to early April
Website

Some hot spring inns have only two hot spring baths, one each for men and women, but Nansuikaku has a whopping nine, plus private baths that can be reserved for use by couples or families. Among the non-reserved baths, the women’s Princess Kaguya Bath, named after the folktale character found inside a stalk of bamboo, is particularly popular for its surrounding grove of 17 different bamboo types.

6. Kintaro Onsen (Uozushi, Toyama Prefecture)
Best sakura viewing time: Early April to mid-April
Website

The two-tone stonework of this outdoor bath gets a third dose of color when the cherry blossoms come into bloom, and the flowers’ hue becomes even more dramatic when the trees are illuminated at night. It might also be the perfect outdoor hot spring bath for those who are new to onsen and still a little self-conscious about communal bathing, since the naturally murky water provides some extra visual coverage.

5. Sansuikan (Yufuin, Oita Prefecture)
Best sakura viewing time: Late March to early April
Website

Located in what’s widely considered one of Japan’s most elegant hot spring towns, Sansuikan’s outdoor bath is beautiful in any season, what with its view of Mt Yufuin in the distance, but especially so in spring with sakura in the foreground.

4. Takaragawa Sanso (Tone, Gunma Prefecture)
Best sakura viewing time: Late April to mid-May
Website

Takaragawa Sanso’s claims to fame are its massive Kodakara no Yu and Maka no Yu baths, with areas of approximately 365 and 219 square meters (665.8 and 399.5 square feet). Though there is an attached inn, non-gest day trippers can use the baths for a fee as well, and the surrounding grounds also have many sakura trees, so make sure to take a walk around the facility either before or after your soak.

3. Hounkan (Yoshino, Nara Prefecture)
Best sakura viewing time: Late March to early April
Website

Yoshino is thought by many to be Japan’s most beautiful sakura town, thanks to its mountainside known as the senbonzakura, or “thousand cherry blossom trees.” The Hounkan’s outdoor bath (and some of its indoor ones as well) let you relax in the warm waters as you take in the gradation of shades of pink stretching up and down the slope.

2. Oga Hotel (Oga, Akita Prefecture)
Best sakura viewing time: Mid-April
Website

Much like the cherry blossoms themselves, the Oga Hotel closes up every winter, and then when spring comes, it opens up and welcomes guests. This year’s opening date is set for April 12, when the 50-year-old somei yoshino sakura tree that stands next to the bath should be blossoming, and the bath is illuminated at night as well, with the steam rising into the air creating an enchanting, mysterious atmosphere.

1. Tenku Kaiyu no Yado Suehiro (Kamagori, Aichi Prefecture)
Best sakura viewing time: Late March to early April
Website

Aichi Prefecture often gets overlooked by travelers, but in doing so they’d be missing out on this inn where the open-air hot spring lets you take in a grove of 300 cherry blossom trees with the wide blue expanse of Mikawa Bay beyond. Day-use is available for non-hotel guests as well, and there’s also a rooftop hot spring foot bath with the same view if you don’t have time for a full bath.

The start-of-blooming and full-bloom sakura forecasts can be found here, and if this year’s dates don’t align with your travel plans this spring, don’t forget that all of these hot springs’ views should be just as beautiful next year too.

Source, images: PR Times, Jalan
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