Shimane Matsue City
An inn featuring one of the largest public bath areas, two dry saunas, and an exceptional outdoor air-bathing deck
"Hotel Gyokusen" is a large hotel in Tamatsukuri Onsen, Matsue City, Shimane Prefecture. It features Kōbe Yudono, one of the largest public bath areas in the Tamatsukuri Onsen area, where guests can enjoy Iwa no Yu, with its rugged, beautiful natural rock walls, and Hinoki no Yu, scented with Japanese cypress, in alternating morning and evening use for men and women. Each bath is equipped with a full-fledged dry sauna, and the spacious wooden deck, Totonoi Deck, newly added to the open-air bath area in 2025, offers superb outdoor air bathing while taking in the pleasant breeze and a Japanese garden.
A dynamic bath area lavishly decorated with rugged natural rock. It has the atmosphere of a secluded mountain hot spring, with a large indoor bath and an open-air bath. Filled with the mild waters of Tamatsukuri Onsen, famous for its skin-beautifying effects, the bath offers a silky, clingy feel against the skin. Enjoy a graceful soak while listening to the sound of the waterfall and admiring the autumn leaves that change color with the seasons.
A bath area that prides itself on its beautifully renewed tubs made of Japanese cypress. The fragrant scent of hinoki gently drifts through the steam, bringing a deep sense of relaxation. You can luxuriate in the skin-beautifying waters along with the smooth touch of the cypress. From the open-air bath area, you can overlook a Japanese garden with raked sand patterns and a serene, traditional atmosphere, and at night you can linger and lose track of time as bamboo lanterns glow enchantingly.
A far-infrared dry sauna adjoining the public bath area. Thanks to the far-infrared effect, it gently and evenly warms the body from deep within. The heat is mild and less likely to feel stifling, making it suitable for sauna beginners and for those who want to work up a good sweat at their own pace. In the calm space, you can spend a quiet, meditative moment and slowly feel the pleasant warmth.
Irregular Holidays
Tamatsukuri Onsen
A beauty-skin ryokan boasting the largest open-air bath in Japan at 120-tsubo and a natural hot spring with free-flowing source water
Tamatsukuri Onsen
An atmospheric inn with scenic open-air baths overlooking a natural waterfall and bamboo grove, where guests can soak in Tamatsukuri Onsen, the hot spring of the gods
Tamatsukuri Onsen
A luxurious hot spring inn surrounded by a spectacular top-floor observation bath, a variety of baths, and skin-beautifying hot springs
JAPAN'S FINEST ONSEN & SAUNA
The Finest Onsen & Sauna in Japan
64 SELECTIONS
Most of what we surveyed never even made it onto this site. This book is a further cut from what did. Our editor bathed in every onsen and sauna in it, and wrote only what they confirmed on the ground.
