Hotel Moriyamakan

The hotel sits on a charming onsen street, with restaurants, izakayas, snack bars, and other onsens nearby if you want to visit them for the day. There’s also a free foot bath close by. Staying overnight is very affordable, and you can book breakfast and dinner with delicious traditional Japanese food. The natural onsen was a pleasure, and there’s a ganbanyoku (hot stone bath) warm bedrock bath as well. Staff were wonderful and the rooms we saw were spacious.

Good.

It’s closing, which is such a shame. Please reopen! I came just for a day bath. The clean place has a nice Showa-era retro look, and the spring water tasted salty when I licked it. It was highly saline, warming, and so comfortable I could have stayed in it forever. I had a long soak, switching between the hot sauna and the bath, then cooling off under a cold shower. The water was wonderful.

Bathing hours run from 6 to 8am for overnight guests, with day visits starting at 10am; overnight bathing is available until 11pm. The sauna sits in the high 70s°C and fits about three people. The main bath is spacious, and the clear, colorless spring has no smell, though it tastes salty. Using the bedrock bath costs extra. My room wasn’t new, but it was clean and tidy. The air conditioning worked well and could be adjusted. The curtains don’t block light. There’s a safe, kettle, and fridge, stocked with beer bottles, mineral water, and cola for an extra charge. The fridge can chill cans, but there isn’t room for anything bigger. Wi-Fi 5 was stable enough for computer use. Outlets are limited, and there’s no extension cord, which was inconvenient. I couldn’t find an alcohol vending machine. Credit cards are accepted.