Noji Onsen Hotel

The sulfur water makes the place unusually cloudy. It’s hot and comes straight from the source, with no added water or reheating. The smell isn’t as strong as Kusatsu’s, though whether that’s a plus is a matter of taste. I could see this becoming addictive.

Getting here is a bit of a trek, so a car may be the easiest way. In good weather, though, the road is a pleasure, with lovely viewpoints along the way. The milky water has a pleasant smell, and admission is only ¥800 for access to all the baths. The separate bathing areas rotate between men and women, so with enough time you could try each one. The building is clearly old, but it has plenty of character and doesn’t feel worn out in a bad way. The bath I tried had no showers, so it’s best to arrive reasonably clean. People seemed to rinse themselves with bath water before getting in.

The staff were fantastic and arranged vegan meals for both dinner and breakfast. Dinner was excellent, while breakfast was decent. The baths have very strong sulfur water with high TDS. I especially liked the outdoor one, and the partly indoor, partly outdoor bath was pretty good too. The water felt a little hot, but not excessively so.

The meals were tasty and filling, with seasonal local dishes that weren’t overly sweet. Rooms are spacious, with Japanese reed mats, and staff lay out the futons while you’re at dinner. It takes about an hour on the hotel bus from Fukushima Station. The inn has an old-fashioned feel, with indoor and outdoor baths that change every three hours, plus fixed men’s and women’s baths. When it’s windy and snowing, the outdoor baths can feel uncomfortably cold, and the shower area inside cools down whenever the outer door keeps opening.