Misasa Onsen & Nageiredo Guide 2026: Radon Springs & Cliff Temple

Central Tottori holds the prefecture’s deepest seam of heritage: Misasa Onsen, a thousand-year hot-spring town whose radium waters are among the most radon-rich on earth, and Mount Mitoku, where the National Treasure hall of Nageiredo clings impossibly to a cliff face high above the valley. Add the white-walled storehouse town of Kurayoshi and you have a quiet, traditional two days of springs, a famous pilgrim climb and old streets. This guide explains how, and pairs with our Misasa Onsen, Nageiredo and Kurayoshi itinerary.

At a glance: Two days in central Tottori — the demanding cliff-temple climb to Nageiredo on Mount Mitoku and an evening in Misasa Onsen’s radon baths in a heritage ryokan, then the preserved storehouse district of Kurayoshi, soba and the twentieth-century pear museum. A car is the easiest way to link the sights. The Nageiredo climb is weather-dependent and closed in winter.

The springs at Misasa

Misasa Onsen has welcomed bathers for roughly 850 years, and its waters are genuinely unusual: among the most radon-rich hot springs in the world. Tradition holds that the spring works through “hormesis” — the idea that very low doses of radiation stimulate the body — so the waters here are taken not only by soaking but, customarily, by drinking at fountains and breathing the steam. You needn’t take the science on faith to enjoy the ritual: the town is a lantern-lit lane of old wooden inns along the Misasa River, with a foot bath, a drinking fountain and the Kawaraburo, an open-air bath set right on the river’s gravel bank beside the red Kajika Bridge, where you can soak almost in the stream.

The town’s strongest place to stay is Ryokan Ohashi, which has stood on the river since 1932 and is a nationally Registered Tangible Cultural Property. Its rambling wooden building draws its own radon-rich water to source baths fed directly from the spring beneath the house, the rooms keep their pre-war craftsmanship, and dinner is a kaiseki built on Tottori’s mountains and the nearby Sea of Japan — with snow crab in winter. It is a true heritage ryokan rather than a modern hotel, and an unhurried evening of bath, river view and a long dinner is the heart of a Misasa stay.

The cliff temple: Nageiredo on Mount Mitoku

The reason many travellers come to this corner of Tottori is Mount Mitoku, a centre of mountain asceticism for more than 1,300 years. Its temple, Sanbutsu-ji, climbs the slope in a series of halls reached by a famously demanding pilgrim trail of tree roots, chains and bare rock. At the top is the Nageiredo, a small, perfectly proportioned hall of the late Heian period tucked into a hollow in a sheer cliff — designated a National Treasure and so improbably placed that legend says the holy man En no Gyoja “threw” it into the cliff by magic. The climb to the viewpoint below it is one of Japan’s great temple experiences, physically real and spiritually charged.

It is also strictly controlled, and you should plan for that. Stout footwear is required — straw sandals are sold for those in unsuitable shoes — and climbers must go in groups of two or more, so solo travellers will be paired up at the office. Registration for the climb closes in the early afternoon (around 14:00), and the route closes in rain, snow and winter. Allow about three hours for the full ascent and descent. Entry to the main hall is about ¥400, plus roughly ¥800 for the cliff-temple climb (2026). Start early and check conditions before you set out; this is not a guaranteed walk-up.

Day two: the white walls of Kurayoshi

Gentler ground follows in Kurayoshi, a former castle and merchant town where a preserved district of Edo- and Meiji-period storehouses lines a small willow-fringed canal, the Tamagawa. The warehouses show white-plaster walls below black-burnt cedar boarding, capped with the region’s distinctive red “sekishu” roof tiles, their reflections doubling in the water; stone slabs bridge the canal to each door, and the buildings now hold cafes, craft shops and small museums, some converted under the local “Akagawara” (red-tile) project. The whole streetscape is the sight rather than any single building, and it is a compact, photogenic place to walk slowly.

A short walk away, Utsubukian is a well-regarded soba house named for the wooded hill behind the town, serving buckwheat noodles made on the premises with clear local water — an easy, authentic lunch. Finish at the Tottori Twentieth-Century Pear Museum, the only museum in the country devoted to the crisp, juicy green nashi that became the prefecture’s signature crop. Its centrepiece is a vast living pear tree trained flat across the ceiling, and a tasting counter offers pear varieties and sweets year-round, though the fresh fruit is at its best from August to October. The museum closes on the first, third and fifth Mondays, so check the calendar.

Practicalities for 2026

Misasa Onsen is reached via JR Kurayoshi Station (on the San’in Line, served by limited-express trains) and a short bus or taxi ride; Mount Mitoku is a further bus or drive into the hills. Because the sights are spread — the cliff temple, the onsen town and Kurayoshi all sit some distance apart — a car is by far the easiest way to link them, though it is possible with patience by bus. The Nageiredo climb is the one fixed constraint: it is seasonal, weather-dependent and time-limited, so build the rest of the day around starting it in the morning. For Tottori’s signature dunes, see our Tottori Sand Dunes guide.

FAQ

What makes Misasa Onsen’s water special? Misasa is one of the most radon-rich hot springs in the world. The water is traditionally taken by soaking, drinking at fountains and breathing the steam, based on the “hormesis” idea that trace doses stimulate the body. Even setting the science aside, the riverside baths and lantern-lit old town make a memorable, deeply traditional onsen experience.

How hard is the Nageiredo climb, and can anyone do it? It is a genuine scramble over roots, rocks and chains, not a paved path, and takes about three hours round trip. Proper shoes are required (straw sandals are sold otherwise), and by temple rule you must climb in a group of two or more. It closes in bad weather and winter, and registration ends in the early afternoon — so it is never guaranteed.

Can I see Nageiredo without climbing? There is a viewpoint from across the valley where you can see the cliff hall from a distance with binoculars, and the lower temple halls of Sanbutsu-ji can be visited without the full ascent. But the close view from the climb itself is the famous experience.

When are the twentieth-century pears in season? Tottori’s twentieth-century pears are at their best from August to October. The pear museum in Kurayoshi is open year-round with tastings and pear sweets, but for the fresh fruit, plan a late-summer or early-autumn visit. The museum closes on the first, third and fifth Mondays.

Do I need a car for this route? It is strongly recommended. The cliff temple, Misasa Onsen and Kurayoshi are spread across central Tottori with limited bus connections, so a rental car (often picked up at Kurayoshi or Tottori) makes the two days far smoother.

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