Yamanaka Onsen Shirasagiyu Tawaraya

Tawaraya is a long-established hot spring inn on the banks of the Kakusenkei Gorge, a nationally designated scenic site, in the Higashimachi district of Yamanaka Onsen in Kaga, Ishikawa Prefecture. It was founded as one of the twelve original source inns when Yamanaka Onsen, whose history spans some 1,300 years, was revived in the Kamakura period, and the present owner is the 36th generation. The surrounding hot spring town, known as the inner parlor of Kanazawa, is also where the poet Matsuo Basho stayed for nine days during his Narrow Road to the Deep North journey.

The water is a simple hot spring (hypotonic, weakly alkaline, high temperature) issuing at about 50C. The inn's own source yields roughly 90 liters per minute, the largest volume in Yamanaka Onsen, and every bath is filled with 100 percent source water served free-flowing without dilution, reheating, or recirculation. Colorless and transparent with a notably soft feel, it is said to help with joint pain, lower back pain, poor circulation, stomach ailments, and cuts.

There are two bathing wings: Kakusen, a riverside open-air bath overlooking the gorge with room for about 30 bathers, and Kawashika, a large bath with a sauna that opened in November 2025; the two swap between men and women overnight. A private bath named Kikka faces the gorge and can be reserved for 3,300 yen per 45 minutes. The inn has 43 rooms and free parking for 80 cars. Day-trip bathing costs 1,500 yen for adults and 1,000 yen for elementary school children, towels included, by advance reservation.