Gozu Onsenkyo Deyu Onsen Oishiya Ryokan

We spent about 47,000 yen for our family of four. Thanks for everything. We checked in at 3 PM, rested, played table tennis, then took a bath. It was small and lukewarm. Dinner was at 6 PM, with meat, sashimi, wild vegetables, and chawanmushi, or steamed egg custard. The rice, cooked with drinkable hot spring water, was especially delicious. We were all in bed by 9 PM, though my second son’s loud snoring woke me at 2 AM. We got up at 5 AM, got ready to leave, and took another bath, this time in the large, hot bath. Breakfast was at 7:30 AM, and we finished all the rice in the container. Afterward, the kids played table tennis while I carefully filled out the inn’s guestbook. We checked out at 9 AM. We stayed here for my eldest son’s graduation trip.

The inn’s staff were wonderful, and the food was delicious. The building is old but impressive, with detailed designs on the ceilings and around the room entrances.

We came from Osaka, and I’d recommend this place. The food was tasty, and we could take it easy.

The inn where we stayed, Oishiya, is a quiet, well-kept two-story wooden building in a traditional Japanese style. It isn’t new, but it has a nostalgic feel. I have no complaints, and the price was reasonable, almost cheap. The staff were kind and pleasant, too. The food was carefully made and felt heartfelt. As you’d expect in Niigata, a rice-producing region, the rice was especially good. The baths for men and women are large and continuously fed with spring water. They’re open from 6:30 AM to 11 PM. The clear, soft water felt refreshing on my skin and left me feeling rejuvenated. Deyu Onsenkyo feels like a Japanese mountain village, surrounded by forest and wonderfully tranquil, almost divine. There are four inns and two public baths, each with separate hot spring sources, so you can try different waters. Strolling around is enjoyable. The area is said to date back 1,200 years, and Kaho-ji Temple and the legend of Kobo Daishi are part of its history. I think Oishiya is a perfect place to leave the city bustle behind, relax without watching the time, and soothe your fatigue.