Kurokawa Onsen Shinmei-kan

12. Shinmei-kan, Kurokawa Onsen (pt.3) ★★★ About the onsens: 1. Outdoor rectangular bath Kazenoyu. Located on a hill, slightly separate from the main ryokan buildings. Clear water, temperature 43. Bath schedule (for overnight guests): - 15:30 to 23:00: private (must reserve a slot at reception); - 23:00 to 06:30: closed; - 06:30 to 08:00: women's; - 08:00 to 09:30: men's. 2. Public indoor old-school bath. Clear water, temperature 40-41. Somewhat stuffy inside. 3. Private indoor bath Kajika. Clear water, temperature early in the morning was 50.5 — had to dilute. Breathing inside is excellent. Bath schedule (for overnight guests): - 15:30 to 22:00: the flyer said reservation required (but I wasn't given the option to reserve); - 22:00 to 10:00: available as a private bath on a first-come-first-served basis (no issues here, went in freely in the morning without a reservation). 09.04.2025 10.04.2025

12. Shinmei-kan, Kurokawa Onsen (pt.2) ★★★ About the onsens: 1. Main stone bath Iwato. Located under a roof and behind a fence, with a cave fragment on the interior side. The bath especially comes alive in the evening atmosphere-wise, but that's only available for overnight guests. Has a reclining zone. Clear water, temperature 43-44. Bath schedule (for overnight guests): - 15:00 to 19:30: men's; - 19:30 to 22:00: mixed, but special bathing clothes required (disposable ones sold at reception for 500); - 22:00 to 06:30: closed; - 06:30 to 10:00: women's. 2. Cave bath. The cave is small, but you can actually walk in a circle inside. Clear water, temperature 43. Breathing is tolerable — there's a sauna effect. 08.04.2025 09.04.2025 10.04.2025

12. Shinmei-kan, Kurokawa Onsen (pt.1) ★★★ Stayed overnight. Located in the center of the village. Had dinner and breakfast, served in a separate space. The baths have their own schedules and details — see the schedule photo and individual bath descriptions. Ryokans Shinmei-kan, Yamamizuki, and Miyama Sanso share the same owners. The main stone bath and cave bath are available for higaeri usually from 10:30 to 15:00, sometimes with a day off during the week. Included in the Kurokawa tegata. According to the website, the indoor bath may also be available for higaeri from 12:00 to 15:00. The owner of this ryokan was Goto Tetsuya — the man who made Kurokawa Onsen village what it is today. He carved the cave onsen at his ryokan, designed and encouraged the village to use more rotenburo with natural atmosphere, took care of greening the village, and participated in introducing Japan's first onsen tegata in Kurokawa, which was later copied by other onsen towns across the country. He wrote a book about Kurokawa. He has since passed away. Staff is mostly non-Japanese. The service team tried very hard, but the level of Japanese service is simply different. I also requested to see any artifacts or historical objects given the historical significance of this ryokan, but besides the book and an A4 printout of general points from the book, they couldn't offer anything. The non-Japanese staff tried reaching out to a Japanese and apparently senior staff member at the ryokan at the time, but that didn't help either. Overall, virtually no emphasis is placed on the history of the place beyond selling the book, though they could really do a great job of showcasing and leveraging that story. Dinner and breakfast were double portions, delivered perfectly. The kaiseki dinner was in a separate atmospheric space, sitting on the floor (they offered mini chairs for those sitting uncomfortably, everyone declined of course). Breakfast was decent, medium portion relatively speaking, also in a separate room. Food was all good. A powerful historical place. The onsens are great, each with their own unique features. Atmospheric inside, especially great in the evening both in the main bath and walking around outside to the onsens — doesn't feel like you're in the center of the village. 08.04.2025 09.04.2025 10.04.2025

Day-use is available, included in the pass. The place is hyped, there's a sign saying the day-use slot is from 10:30 to 15:00, but if it's crowded they'll turn people away. I saw somewhere that it was mixed bathing, but it's actually gender-separated. You get access to two baths (but you have to get dressed/undressed to move between them). One bath is outdoor, under a roof and behind a fence (in the photo). The second is inside a cave - it's quite small inside but you can walk around a bit. The water is clear, not much smell, normal water temperature. Changing is very inconvenient, especially at the cave one - limited space, people were around. Towel 300 yen, but in a nice little merchandise bag. Couldn't find a water composition sign. Overall good, but the changing situation was really annoying.