Ikeyama Spring

Ikeyama Springfamous watersUbuyamaspring waterAso

Kumamoto · Ubuyama

33.0411°N, 131.1849°E

Ikeyama is a spring in the far north-east corner of Kumamoto, in the village of Ubuyama on the outer rim of the Aso caldera, and it is quieter than Shirakawa by a wide margin. Thirty tonnes a minute comes up at a constant 13.5 degrees into a pool surrounded by trees over two hundred years old, and the light through them onto the water is the reason photographers make the drive.

It is also on the Environment Ministry's hundred famous waters list. The water is drawn by local households and by shops, and there is a small shrine at the head of the pool. Around it Ubuyama is a village of about fifteen hundred people on high grassland, with almost nothing else, which is a large part of the appeal.

Essential Information

Opening Hours

Daylight hours

Closed: Open year-round

Entrance Fee

Free

Best Season

Year-round | Fresh green in May and autumn colour in November

Visit Duration

30–45 minutes

Getting There

Access Information

Tajiri 14-1, Ubuyama, Aso District, in the north-east of the prefecture on the outer rim of the Aso caldera. Car recommended; public transport is minimal. Free to visit. The spring produces around 30 tonnes a minute at a constant 13.5°C and is surrounded by trees over 200 years old. It is designated among the Environment Ministry's 100 Famous Waters. Water may be taken.

Insider Guide

Premium

**It is much quieter than Shirakawa.** Same designation, a fraction of the visitors, because it is an hour further into the hills with nothing else around it. **The trees are the composition.** Two-hundred-year-old cedar and the light coming through onto the pool. Overcast days actually suit it better than bright sun. **Free, and water can be taken.** Bring a container; local people fill large ones here. **Ubuyama has about fifteen hundred people.** High grassland, cattle, and very little else. That emptiness is the reason to drive out rather than a drawback. **Combine with the Aso rim road.** The route between Ubuyama and Daikanbo runs along the caldera edge and is one of the best drives in Kyushu.

View on Google Maps