Gifu Kani City
Natural onsen water fed straight from the source and an authentic löyly sauna, in a Japanese-style setting
Natural Onsen Mitsumine, in Kani, Gifu Prefecture, is a day-use bathhouse with the look of a Japanese-style ryokan. In baths spread across open-air and indoor areas you can enjoy the soft feel of an alkaline simple spring, in a relaxing space with a view of the garden. There are two saunas, Löyly-no-Mori and a far-infrared high-temperature sauna, and the cold plunge also uses natural groundwater. The cool-down after the sauna has been carefully thought through. With a sand-salt bath, a restaurant and rest areas as well, you can relax and lose track of time.
At Mitsumine you can enjoy an alkaline simple spring known for its softness on the skin. Smooth and light, it is known as a “water for beautiful skin” that leaves skin silky after bathing. The source is piped to both the open-air and indoor baths, so you can enjoy the openness of soaking while gazing at the garden. It is also expected to help circulation and fatigue recovery, offering a soothing time as if wrapped in nature’s warmth.
An indoor onsen tub lined with hinoki. The smooth water of the alkaline simple spring wraps the whole body along with the scent of hinoki. On the 25th and 26th of every month, the Bath Days, a special-infusion bath event is held.
A personal-size open-air bath that uses a large ceramic urn as its tub. It is roomy enough to sink in comfortably up to your shoulders, and in your own private space you can fully enjoy the skin-beautifying effect of the alkaline water.
A silk bath (also called Kinu-no-Yu) where ultrafine bubbles of about 3 microns turn the water pure white. It is expected to offer a skin-beautifying effect, as the fine bubbles get deep into pores and pick up impurities, and an ultrasonic effect that warms the body to the core. A jet bath is also set in the center, so you can loosen up the whole body with a double stimulus.
A standing jacuzzi-style bath in a ceramic tub where bubbles burst all around the body. The bursting bubbles are said to release negative ions, with a soothing effect equal to forest bathing. It is expected to help circulation, fatigue recovery and the skin, and since the warmth lasts after bathing, you can go on enjoying the openness of the open-air area as it is.
A strongly carbonated bath rich in dissolved carbon dioxide, known as the “ramune bath” after Japan’s fizzy ramune soda. Absorbed through the skin, the carbon dioxide boosts circulation, and the mildly acidic water is expected to promote skin metabolism and help prevent aging. It also works as an electric bath, so you can feel the tingling of a mild electric current loosening the muscles.
The open-air sauna that is the face of the place. In the automatic löyly held at half past every hour, water is poured over the sauna stones and then a punkah louver blasts fierce hot air, sending the felt temperature soaring at once. Wrapped in wild greenery, you sweat as if under a waterfall, an experience with the thrill of an attraction that feels different on every visit. The sauna opens straight onto the Mori-no-Izumi cold plunge right in front, and the easy flow is part of its appeal.
A high-temperature far-infrared sauna in the indoor bath area. It warms the body thoroughly to the core, offering a dry style of heat aimed at boosting circulation and relieving fatigue.
A deep cold plunge in the open-air area. It uses natural groundwater, noted for its soft quality. Sink in up to your shoulders and, with a sense of floating, the heat drains away at once and your head feels clear right through. It sits right in front of the Löyly-no-Mori sauna, ideal for cooling down straight after the blast of automatic löyly, and leads on to cooling off in the open air amid surrounding greenery.
A cold plunge in the semi-open-air area near the indoor sauna (the far-infrared high-temperature sauna). It is shallower than Mori-no-Izumi, but its refreshing water cools you down thoroughly. It is easy to reach from the indoor sauna, and you can settle into it calmly in a quiet atmosphere.
Irregular Holidays
By car
By train and bus
Parking for 150 cars
Visited by the Editor-in-Chief
The Editor-in-Chief visited in person in April 2026
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