さがの温泉 天山の湯

Locals love this onsen. Amazing Onsen with spring water coming from 1200m underground rich in iron. Many different kinds of baths and one sauna. Love the outdoor area with Gold and Silver hot springs, sleeping spring and bath tub spring. It was a chilly night with rain - even more incredible! (food was also really good and cheap, average 10-15€ for a set)

Good place to have a bath and rejuvenate. The male sauna and wash area have a loud TV that cannot be turned down or off. If you go in the evening it's usually noisy with lots of teenagers talking loudly.

Very local experience! Facilities were very well maintained and as a foreigner it was still foreigner friendly. Very glad we came here to experience onsen

**TLDR disclaimer: Strictly NO Tattoo policy, but otherwise very accessible onsen for visitors.** If you're visiting Japan and seeking an Onsen experience that is both beginner/foreigner friendly and locally immersive at the same time, look no further than Tenzan no Yu. This bathhouse is apparently multi-award winning and it's easy to see why. The bath layouts are beautiful, in open air, with many styles/attractions (?) to enjoy - including sauna pools, hot rocks, and rich flowing mineral bath. The main reason this onsen gets 5 stars from me is the smoothness and ease of accessibility for us as foreigners. Whilst not all staff speak English, all the important details are provided to you in a translated info sheet that explains all the necessary steps and etiquette. Regardless of language barriers, all staff we met were extremely welcoming and hospitable to us a foreigners (in comparison to another major bathhouse I visited near Fuji, which I won't name). Some pre-preparation and respectful diligence on your end will get you a long way to enjoying a truly local and unmissable bathing experience - and we noticed a handful of fellow foreigners doing the same. Though, the only hard exception to the foreigner friendliness is the strict no tattoo policy (not even cover ups - I don't know about small and modest tattoos), which will be a deal breaker for some. You can look to other reviews or study the provided info sheet to understand the procedure in depth, but as a short summary: Enter the onsen by leaving your shoes in the shoebox locker. Take the shoebox key to the front reception where they will exchange this for your main locker key that also functions as your "tab". You pay the entrance fee along with towel rentals as needed. The receptionists will likely speak enough English to convey the important info as well as hand you the info sheet to study. Once you have your locker key, you are free to use all available amenities, with any extra costs charged to your locker key tab which is paid at the end. Your locker is located inside the gendered change rooms. We also enjoyed the massage facilities available, there was no pre-booking available and we were lucky to get a couple slot within the next hour by walking up during a a busy time (your mileage may vary). The massage itself was great, though note the massage staff perhaps speak the least amount of English, so knowing these phrases beforehand will be helpful during your massage: 1. "Itai!" (Ouch.. softer please) 2. "Motto Tsuyoku" (more power!) 3. "Hai, Koko desu!" (Yes, that spot right there). With those basic sayings the skilled and diligent masseuse was able to understand and deliver a relieving and targeted massage. The in-house restaurant was also good but nothing specially noteworthy, just enjoy it as part of the experience. The final aspect I wish to highlight is the fantastic location. Being 20 minutes away by foot from Saga-Arashiyama station puts you out of range of the bustling foot traffic and rowdy "happen-by" visitors. But, its relative vicinity means you can enjoy a full day exploring the nearby attractions, then wind down with a relaxing evening at the Onsen to physically decompress and reflect on the sights you saw. This honestly is a peak of human experience and will become a recurring itinerary for us.

What an incredible and relaxing experience. Hardly used by any foreigners whilst I was here (not a bad thing) and as other have said despite being busyish it didn't feel too full. I was able to use and enjoy all the various baths without any queues at all. Cost was ¥1450 which included towel rental and I was able to stay as long as I wanted. Possibly the best thing I've done in Kyoto!!