Nonoka Hongokan

I came for the day. The facilities were clean, and there are indoor and outdoor baths. The water is circulated, but it’s 100% natural hot spring water, clear and brown. The outdoor bath’s incoming water has a faint woody smell, and the area somehow reminds me of the beach.

All nine of us had a great time here during our Japan trip. The room, food, onsen, and service were all wonderful.

I left with a great memory of the place. The service was kind, and the people were nice, always greeting us with a smile.

I got a taxi from Murayama Station and reached the inn shortly after 3 PM. After checking in, I had a private hot spring bath, then went to the dining room at 6:30. Once I was seated in my room, I started with a draft beer before dinner. Dinner had a lot to it: appetizers, sashimi, grilled and covered dishes, a main, fried and vinegared dishes, soup, and dessert. I especially liked the appetizer of green onions and halfbeak with mustard. It had a pleasant kick and the vegetables still had a nice texture. The sashimi was tuna, sea bream, and kanpachi. The tuna had both fatty and medium-fatty cuts, and the kanpachi was rich and delicious too. The black flounder was grilled with salt koji, which made it fragrant and tender. Rapeseed shindamaki rolls with bamboo shoots were smooth and well seasoned. The Yamagata beef, steamed in a bamboo steamer, was sweet, tender, and had just the right amount of fat. The fried shrimp wrapped in tofu skin with lotus root and other vegetables was crisp. Plump oysters and cucumber went well together in the vinegared dish. Crab and chrysanthemum tsumire soup was soft and tasty with the bean rice. Dessert was strawberry pudding with fresh cream, gently sweet. Breakfast started at 7:40 and included sweet potato hotpot, salted grilled salmon, dried daikon radish, natto, and more. The hotpot had soft white fish paste and a flavorful broth. The salmon was tender and nicely seasoned with rice, and the fragrant dried daikon tasted homemade and was seasoned well. There were plenty of sides, including natto, basil, and grated daikon, so I went back for more rice. The local dishes, especially the Yamagata beef, went nicely with a drink. The sweet potato hotpot was warming after waking up and went down well with rice. Between the directly sourced hot springs and the well-seasoned food, this inn was a good place to unwind. Thanks for the meal.