Katashina Onsen Umeya

The food was a real treat: each dish was freshly grilled or fried, and breakfast's salmon and salmon collar were so good I went back for more rice. I found this place when I was looking for a weekend night's stay near Katashina Kogen Ski Resort, and it had vacancies. I was looking forward to the free-flowing hot spring, though there was only one indoor bath and it wasn't very big. The water smelled of sulfur and felt smooth, with lovely quality. The room was like a regular hot spring inn, with a fridge and Wi-Fi, so it was comfortable enough. The landlady was quite bold in manner, which might not suit someone wanting very attentive service, but it was fine for me.

The owner cooks the food himself, and it was delicious. The inn has an old Showa-era feel, but I had a great stay. Its hot spring has been supplied straight from the source since the inn opened, and they even offer day-use baths. We had a long, funny conversation about keeping the water temperature under control in winter. If you want a genuine source-fed hot spring, it's worth visiting at least once, even just for a bath.

For our January ski camp, we switched to Ryokan Umeya after years at the Oze Iwakura Resort Hotel, and the whole group, all over 60, thought it was fantastic. The dishes arrived freshly cooked, one after another, and the lukewarm spring water made us drowsy, then left us sweating within five minutes of getting out. The inn has a distinctive Japanese feel in the heart of the Joshu countryside, in an area that doesn't see many inbound tourists. Everything else was close to perfect too: the atmosphere, the spring quality and upkeep, the food, humidifiers in every room, and the staff's manner. The optional Joshu beef set and sake were great as well. Its location can't match Iwakura Resort, though the renovation there a year or two ago did make me wonder. They take cash, probably to keep prices low, and that seems like a clever way to make a stay in Katashina Onsen more affordable. It even made me think Oze may not need a full-scale resort.

Dinner's maitake mushroom rice and the salmon collar at breakfast were both delicious. The spring water also left my skin feeling very smooth, and seemed great for beautifying it.