Shikotsuko Ito Onsen

Chitose, Hokkaido, Japan

Location: Chitose, Hokkaido, Japan
Water type: calcium-rich
Temperature: 40 °C
pH: 7.3

Water profile

Thermicity

Sedative

40 °C

LowHigh

Relaxing — deep, immediate muscle release.

Mineralisation

Restorative

LowHigh

Loaded with major ions — the essential minerals (Ca, Mg).

Buoyancy

Standard buoyancy

LowHigh

Soft water — natural, classic buoyancy.

CalciumSulfatesMagnésium

Shikotsuko Ito Onsen was a sulfate thermal spring facility located on the northern shore of Lake Shikotsu in Chitose City, Hokkaido, offering bathing with direct views over one of Japan's deepest and most transparent caldera lakes before its facilities were permanently closed and demolished following 2013, leaving behind only the memory of a bathing experience uniquely combining geothermal warmth with the visual majesty of the volcanic lake. The sulfate-rich mineral waters of this spring, traditionally associated with relaxation and comfort, were enjoyed against the backdrop of the lake's extraordinary transparency and the forested volcanic ridges of the Shikotsu caldera rising on all sides. Shikotsuko Ito Onsen represents the category of Japanese thermal heritage that has been lost to time and the economics of resort operation, serving as a reminder that the landscape's natural thermal resources outlast the human institutions built around them.

Insider tip — Shikotsuko Ito Onsen sits on the shore of crater lake Shikotsu in Hokkaido, where calcium-sulfate waters have been channeled into lakeside ryokan since the Meiji era. The lake itself, one of Japan's clearest and deepest, provides a spectacular backdrop for outdoor baths. The spring water has a mild pale blue-white tinge from its mineral content and is prized for its skin conditioning properties. Winter offers the surreal experience of bathing in steaming outdoor pools while surrounded by frozen lake ice.

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