Around town · Town walk · onsen district
Sat 5 Dec · Sun 6 Dec · 6 Feb 2027 · First weekend of every even month. Hours vary by stop
The onsen district's own walk, on the first weekend of every even month. Shops, inns, cafés and galleries each put on something of their own. Pick up a map and wander.
Coming up
Yutanpo is the onsen district's own festival, held on the first weekend of every even month. The name plays on yu (hot water), tan (to search) and po (to walk). Each business takes part in its own way, so you can drop into two places or spend the whole day going from one to the next.
Pick up the map at the Genkan Terrace at Man'yō Park, the Yugawara Museum of Art or any taking-part shop, or open the PDF online. Each stop has its own programme and a contact for bookings on the Yutanpo website.
The 27th edition, 3 and 4 October 2026, opened the registered-heritage inns: Genzan Uenoya, Itoya, Fujiya Ryokan and Fujitaya, old inns with rooms and halls from the Meiji era onward. Itoya is where Shimazaki Tōson worked on Before the Dawn. That weekend also had a bath at Kogome no Yu, an architect-led tour of the Manyōtei tea house, designed by Horiguchi Sutemi, and the Genkan Terrace, plus Yugawara-bayashi taiko, bonsai at Jusuian, and kimono workshops at Yakamean and Kimono Suzuki. Food and drink included craft beer at Kadoya, sake at Musubu, Chinese at Shinshinkō, Charly's pizza, Kato's croquettes, Efuya's kibimochi, and the river counter of sweets at Murosada. Art was at the museum, Antica Art Yugawara and Enso. The Iyashiba-e night walk, the volunteer guides and the medaka-scooping contest at Medaka-ya Ginga were among the extras.
The 28th edition is 5 and 6 December 2026, a good weekend for a bath at one of the old inns and for staying on into the evening once the day trippers have left. The 29th is 6 and 7 February 2027, while the plum blossom at Makuyama is out, so the walk pairs with the plum festival.
If a day is called off for bad weather, the Yutanpo website says so by 7:00 that morning.
Every stop on the map, from the art museum at the top of the district down to the river. Tap a pin for what's there, and follow the link where we have a page for the place.
Yutanpo covers the whole onsen district, so the baths, Man'yō Park and dinner are a short walk from the map. December is a quieter weekend at the old inns. February falls in plum season at Makuyama. Stay the night either way.
Genzan Uenoya, a 1930 wooden inn, opens its rooms for a look and a bath. Museum Café and Garden sells local honey and looks out on the stream, the Genkan Terrace hands out the pamphlet and has a foot bath (not in the rain), and Manyōtei, the tea house in Man'yō Park, is open for a quiet sit. Kogome no Yu is the town's day bath (closed Mondays), and the art museum is up the road. Beer Stand Kadoya has craft beer by the bus stop.
One of Yugawara's oldest inns, in a four-storey wooden building from 1930 that's a registered cultural property. Two springs of its own, free private open-air baths, and a hinoki foot bath on the top floor.
The café at the town art museum, run by a local tofu maker, with a garden terrace and a foot bath by the stream.
A glass-walled café and library at the entrance to Man'yō Park. Free to walk in, with terraces among the trees and by the river.
The only place in the onsen district to drink fresh local beer on tap, with a terrace over the Chitose River.
A wooded park along the Chitose River in the heart of the onsen district, with stream-side decks, a thatched tea house, a café and a day spa.
The town's small art museum in the onsen district, with a café terrace, a garden and a foot bath by the stream.
The town's own day bath, next to Man'yō Park: big indoor and open-air baths, a free tatami rest room, and cheap entry after 7pm.
The February walk falls while Makuyama's grove is in bloom, and Buran-ichi fills the station street on Sunday 21 February. Stay overnight in town and entry to the plum grove is free. Hike on from the grove to the top of Mt Makuyama, or walk the Shiroyama trail from the station.
6 Feb 2027 – 7 Mar 2027
Four thousand plum trees in pink and white bloom at the foot of Mt Makuyama, with stalls, plum soft-serve and hot amazake.
Sun 22 Nov · 21 Feb 2027
About thirty stalls of local crafts, food and produce on the street by the station, a few times a year.
A park along a mountain stream below Mt Makuyama, famous for 4,000 plum trees in February and March, with a playground and a rock-climbing crag.
A loop from the station over Mt Shiroyama, past an 800-year-old juniper, legendary rocks, castle ruins and Shitodo Cave, back down to Gosho Shrine.
Book ahead: Torisuke for yakitori over charcoal (closed Mondays and Tuesdays), Yoru no Ajito for Italian wine and gibier, or Iroha for hamburg steak (closed Mondays). Beer Stand Kadoya pours craft beer by the Ochiai-bashi bus stop every day until 22:00.
A husband-and-wife yakitori house grilling over binchōtan, with clay-pot rice cooked to order.
A small evening spot for Italian wine with cured ham, cheese, house bread, and Yugawara wild boar and venison.
A cosy evening yōshoku restaurant with wood-panelled walls, known for hamburg steak and tomato curry.
The only place in the onsen district to drink fresh local beer on tap, with a terrace over the Chitose River.
For a group, Shiroyamakan (formerly Shiroyama Bekkan) rents out the whole annex of an onsen inn two minutes from the station, with a spring-fed bath and room for 12. Or stay in the onsen district, where the baths, Man'yō Park and dinner are all a short walk away. Hotel Shikisai and Megumi are easy with children, Genzan Uenoya is old Yugawara in a 1930 wooden inn, and The Ryokan Tokyo is the budget pick. For dinner served in your room, Fukiya. Treeside is four minutes from the station, if you'd rather come and go by train. Friends of Matt's run Shiroyamakan.
The detached annex of an onsen inn two minutes from Yugawara Station, rented whole: three bedrooms, room for up to 12, and a half-open-air bath fed from the hot spring.
A big, easygoing onsen hotel by the river with buffet dinners, a station shuttle, table tennis and a summer pool. Good value for families and groups.
A family-friendly ryokan with rooms for four, a children's playroom, a bookable private bath, and meals in the room in the larger suites.
One of Yugawara's oldest inns, in a four-storey wooden building from 1930 that's a registered cultural property. Two springs of its own, free private open-air baths, and a hinoki foot bath on the top floor.
A relaxed, modern onsen inn for writers and solo travellers, with a library lounge, desks, ink-making, and a spring-fed bath.
A sukiya-style ryokan with seven baths, including two hinoki tubs on the roof, and dinner and breakfast served in your room. Good with children.
A small design hotel and apartments four minutes from the station, with rooms that look out to the hills and a restaurant downstairs.
The morning market fills the Man'yō Park entrance every Sunday from 6:00 to 9:00: vegetables, a dozen kinds of citrus, dried fish, bread and jam. Walk down before breakfast if you're staying in the onsen district.
Plans can change with the weather. The organiser's page has the latest.
On now
From 24 Nov 2025, no end date
A puzzle game you play on foot from Fudō Falls down to Man'yō Park, following a story on your phone. Go any day.
On now
Tue 1 Sept – Sat 31 Oct
Pick up a free puzzle booklet, walk the town from the station to the onsen district collecting clues, and enter a draw for ¥1 million in prizes.
On now
Sat 5 Sept – Sun 29 Nov
Japanese comic storytelling every Saturday and Sunday afternoon in the geisha house, plus a Saturday-night show with a bath.
