Kawafuru Onsen Hamaya Ryokan

A lovely, quiet spot for a winter stay. The roads can be snowy and pretty dangerous, so take care. Breakfast and dinner were delicious. The indoor and outdoor onsens aren’t especially modern, but they have what you need and are open around the clock.

A lovely, secluded onsen area.

The hot spring water is the standout here: it flows freely without being altered, and at 38-39°C it’s lukewarm enough for a long soak. There’s an old saying that visitors to Kawago Onsen can leave their walking stick behind as a souvenir, because the springs are so good for easing knee and back pain. You can bathe in the scenic mixed outdoor bath, the separate indoor baths for men and women, or several smaller outdoor baths. The family-run inn itself feels warm and welcoming. The building has little imperfections and isn’t luxurious, but it’s comfortable because there’s no fussy service or intrusion. The meals are perfectly adequate, without fancy presentation or pretentious cooking. Alongside the usual inn meals, long-term guests can get simple, tasty, home-style “therapeutic meals.” It’s tucked into the mountains, with a lush forest rising like a wall and a river flowing nearby, which makes for a peaceful setting.

The sound of Japanese bush frogs croaking was so soothing, and I could see the river from my room at Hamaya Ryokan. I stayed there around June last year. It’s a standalone inn right beside the river, and the hot spring was pleasantly low in temperature for that time of year. The main outdoor bath is mixed, but you can rent bathing suits, so that’s no problem. My husband wasn’t going in that morning, so I tried the women’s outdoor bath instead. Nobody else came, and I got to enjoy it all to myself. There were people staying for hot spring therapy, which made me think the springs must be very nice.