Yuda Onsen Travel Guide: Enjoy Footbaths and Drinkable Hot Spring Water

Yuda Onsen has numerous footbaths that visitors can enjoy free of charge. Many allow you to soak your feet without changing clothes, making them an easy and convenient way to experience the hot springs.
Another distinctive feature of Yuda Onsen is its two designated hot spring drinking stations. As the name suggests, insen refers to the practice of drinking hot spring water. Yuda Onsen's mildly alkaline simple hot spring water is known for its relatively mild taste.
Drinking the hot spring water is traditionally believed to offer health benefits. As Yuda Onsen is also regarded as a spiritual power spot, some believe that drinking its waters may even bring good fortune.
One particularly recommended spot is the footbath at Kitsune no Ashiato, a tourist information and relaxation facility in Yuda Onsen.
Although admission to the footbath requires a fee, the facility offers a range of amenities, including kimono-inspired garments for footbath visitors, changing rooms, and lockers.
Visitors can also enjoy local Yamaguchi specialties at the facility, making it a great place to relax and experience the area's food culture.

Yuda Onsen is a great place to savor Yamaguchi Prefecture's local specialties. After a relaxing soak in the hot springs, these delicious dishes may taste even better.
One of the area's must-try specialties is kawara soba, a unique dish featuring green tea soba noodles served on a heated roof tile and topped with ingredients such as thin strips of omelet.
Part of its appeal lies in the contrast between the crispy noodles in direct contact with the hot tile and the softer noodles above them.
Kawara soba is often served on a large roof tile, with portions that may be big enough to share, so it's worth checking the serving size before ordering.
Another local delicacy not to be missed is fugu sashimi, thinly sliced pufferfish. Yamaguchi is renowned for its fugu cuisine, making it an excellent place to sample this regional specialty.
When visiting Yuda Onsen, be sure to enjoy not only its relaxing hot springs but also the delicious local cuisine that Yamaguchi has to offer.

Yuda Onsen has plenty of shops selling souvenirs, including a wide variety of local specialties from Yamaguchi Prefecture.
One particularly recommended treat is uiro, a traditional Japanese sweet. Although Nagoya is especially famous for uiro, it is also a beloved confection in Yamaguchi.
Uiro is generally made by steaming a mixture of rice flour or wheat flour, sugar, and water. Yamaguchi's version is distinctive for its use of bracken starch, which gives it a wonderfully smooth, delicate texture.
Another famous Yamaguchi specialty is Hagi ware, a traditional type of pottery originally associated with the Japanese tea ceremony.
One of the charms of Hagi ware is the way its appearance and character gradually change with use. Today, it is crafted into a wide variety of items, including tea ceremony utensils, rice bowls, and plates.
Both uiro and Hagi ware make excellent souvenirs to remember your trip to Yamaguchi.

This historic inn is known as a gathering place for the samurai and activists who played key roles in the Meiji Restoration.
On the first floor, the Meiji Restoration Exhibition Room displays valuable historical materials from the final years of the Edo period through the Meiji period. Throughout the inn, guests can immerse themselves in the atmosphere of this fascinating chapter of Japanese history.
The large communal bath, Kura no Yu, overlooks the garden of the former Kawaraya, where many of these historical figures once gathered.
Housed in a relocated storehouse dating back approximately 85 years, the bathing facility features two baths: Ryoma no Yu and Oryo no Yu.

This entertainment-filled ryokan in Yuda Onsen is frequently featured on television and is popular with guests of all ages.
Its biggest attraction is the Okami Theater, a daily performance that has been running for approximately 60 years, except during the year-end and New Year holidays.
The proprietress herself takes the stage, presenting a lively variety of performances, including magic tricks, traditional Japanese water tricks, taiko drumming, and koto music.
Guests can also enjoy five distinctive bathing areas, including a rustic, stone-lined open-air bath and a stone bath inspired by Yang Guifei, the legendary Chinese beauty, featuring stonework imported from China.

This hot spring inn offers guests the chance to experience Yuda Onsen, one of the most renowned hot spring destinations along the historic Sanyo Route. Said to have been discovered by a white fox, Yuda Onsen boasts a history spanning about 800 years.
Guests can unwind in the spacious communal bath and enjoy Yuda Onsen's mildly alkaline hot spring water, known for its smooth feel on the skin and often referred to as "beautifying waters."

Choshuya Yuda Branch is an izakaya located along Prefectural Route 204, Yuda Onsen's main street.
Dedicated to sharing the appeal of Yamaguchi Prefecture with visitors and locals alike, the restaurant serves dishes made with locally sourced ingredients.
One of its most popular dishes is kawara soba, a Yamaguchi specialty featuring green tea soba noodles topped with thin strips of omelet, beef, and other ingredients, all served on a heated roof tile instead of a plate.
For a memorable dining experience, order two to four servings served together on a single roof tile and share the dish with your group.

Located along Onsen Street in the heart of Yuda Onsen, this restaurant is one of the few establishments in Yamaguchi Prefecture specializing in horse meat cuisine.
The restaurant takes pride in its horse meat dishes, prepared using meat delivered directly from a processing facility in Kumamoto that has obtained SQF2000 and HACCP certifications for food safety.
For a true taste of horse meat, start with basashi, a traditional Japanese dish of raw horse meat sashimi.

Located in the hot spring town of Yuda Onsen, one of the most renowned hot spring destinations along the historic Sanyo Route, this restaurant specializes in local cuisine and locally brewed sake.
Guests can enjoy dishes prepared with seasonal ingredients sourced from across Yamaguchi Prefecture, available both à la carte and as part of a variety of multi-course meals.

This five-story pagoda is said to have been completed in 1442. Its construction was planned by Ouchi Morimi to honor his elder brother, Ouchi Yoshihiro, who died during the Oei Rebellion of 1399.
Standing 31.2 meters tall, the pagoda is built primarily in the traditional Japanese architectural style, with some Chinese-influenced elements.
Its cypress-bark roof and gracefully tapering structure give it an elegant, refined appearance.
Considered one of the finest examples of architecture from the mid-Muromachi period and a masterpiece of Ouchi culture, it is also recognized as one of Japan's three most celebrated pagodas, alongside those at Horyuji Temple and Daigoji Temple.

Akiyoshidai is one of Japan's largest karst plateaus, stretching across the central and eastern parts of Mine City in central Yamaguchi Prefecture.
About 300 million years ago, the area was part of a coral reef in a warm tropical sea. Over millions of years, the reef gradually transformed into limestone as tectonic plates carried it across the ocean. The limestone was eventually pushed upward, forming the plateau we see today.
The sight of white limestone formations rising from the vast green grasslands is truly breathtaking.
Beneath Akiyoshidai lies an extensive network of more than 450 limestone caves. Among them are Akiyoshido Cave, designated a Special Natural Monument; Kagekiyodo Cave, where defeated Heike warriors are said to have once hidden; and Taishodo Cave, known for its intricate, maze-like passages and multi-level formations.

Opened in 2000, Tsunoshima Bridge connects the mainland of Shimonoseki City in Yamaguchi Prefecture with the island of Tsunoshima. Stretching 1,780 meters, it is one of Japan's longest toll-free bridges connecting the mainland to an island.
Located within Kita-Nagato Kaigan Quasi-National Park, the bridge was designed to blend harmoniously with the surrounding landscape, with its piers limited to a height of 18 meters.
The roadway runs close to the sea, offering drivers stunning views of the ocean along the way. Rather than following a straight path between the mainland and Tsunoshima, the bridge curves gracefully around Hatoshima, a small island along the route, creating a strikingly beautiful silhouette.