Namegawaonsen Fukushimaya

The rotenburo, or open air bath, was the highlight for me. You can even step into the river to cool down, and it was great. The water in the onsen was excellent and plenty hot. There is a female-only bath, while the other baths are mostly mixed. Though I'm a foreigner, I really enjoyed this very traditional place. Part of the building is quite old, and the other rooms are in a newer building, though it still isn't modern. From the hotel, there's a short hike over a small bridge and uphill to a viewpoint above a great waterfall. If you're up for it in proper hiking boots, you can continue down to the river and follow the shore to the waterfall's base. The whole hike takes about 2-3 hours and is magnificent. I'd love to return when the leaves turn red and gold in autumn.

I liked that the meals came to the room, though you have to lay out the futon yourself. The linens were clean, and while the facilities are old, they were clean too. The hot spring water is excellent: 100% natural and not circulated, clear with a green tint and white sediment floating in it. It smells of sulfur and sulfate. One unusual detail is that the room door only locks from inside; the key is for the safe. A great spot for people who love onsens.

This felt like a laid-back, no-frills lodge high above Toge Station. I really enjoyed the hot spring water, and there are indoor baths, outdoor hinoki-buro cypress baths, and natural iwa-buro rock baths. I found it hard as a first-timer to figure out which baths were konyoku mixed-sex baths and when, and that made me less comfortable using them. The area looks like a great base for mountain hikes, so I'd like to come back. They also did a great job with vegan meals, using lots of local produce gathered from the mountain.

Late October brought beautiful views and a relaxed, peaceful feel. The natural spring baths were lovely, though they had the rotten-egg smell, and some had dead bugs in them. Namekawa falls is nearby, but getting there is a grueling hike. The place is exquisite and very remote, reached by narrow, steep dirt roads, almost like a one-way lane. Wild animals can appear out of nowhere, so the drive comes with some danger.