Yumori Tanakaya

We had a wonderful stay on Dec. 22 at this family-owned ryokan in the mountains, and I’m already looking forward to coming back. The food and service were fantastic. Our traditional tatami room had a private onsen and a tea room. A shuttle picked us up at Nasushibara station. Down 300 stairs, there’s a mixed-gender hot spring above the river with an amazing mountainside view. It’s a rare chance to visit one of the few mixed-bath onsens left in Japan, so make the most of it. You can’t wear a bathing suit, so it won’t suit anyone who’s modest about that. In the evening lounge, we shared plenty of laughs and a few drinks with the ryokan owner. It was a quiet time for the lodge, so we almost had the place to ourselves.

The trip was made easy by the free shuttle to the Shinkansen station. The hotel has both private and public baths, and the place is decent. The food was excellent and the service was the best. I really love this high-quality onsen hotel!

Persevere down the steps and an incredible view opens up. The rotenburo feel completely at one with nature. The largest one sits 20 metres above the river and has an awesome view. Two smaller baths are level with the river. One is partly tucked beneath a big stone, making a little cave with a large window looking out over the river. The other small rotenburo has hotter water. If you need a break from the hot spring, you can soak directly in the cold river. :) To reach these four rotenburo in Tochigi-ken, you descend 300 steps toward the river, and the last 50 are pretty steep. As we came up to the nondescript brown building of Yumori Tanaka-Ya Ryokan at Shiobara Ooami Onsen, we had no idea what to expect. It turned out to be simply awesome, a gateway to magnificent mountain-stream baths. Psst: We understand the rotenburo were affected by the typhoon in September 2015, with repairs scheduled to finish by the end of April 2016. The owner kindly accommodated us when she learned we’d come from far away, even though we visit Japan often, to experience mixed-gender bathing (konyoku) before it disappears. We were very lucky to meet someone so hospitable. The entrance fee is ¥800 per person.

The service and dinner were amazing, and the rooms were wonderful. There are onsen baths indoors and outside. Highly recommended, and worth paying extra for.