Fumoto Ryokan

We stayed in the main building in a traditional Japanese room. The main feature of the room in winter for me is that it's very warm, even hot. There is a heater in the room that runs on onsen water (according to the staff), plus the air conditioner also heats. With this excess heat, even the traditional (none) level of thermal insulation at 0°C outside is not a problem. Very comfortable. The main building is old, authentic, and very confusing — a whole labyrinth of stairs from the lobby to the rooms, to the restaurant, to the baths, to another building (which is kind of across the road, just wide enough for a car, but it's hard to realize because you just keep going up and down stairs). The private baths were officially open until 10 PM, but no one monitored it, and we explored them in order and stayed for half an hour after (no one kicked us out). The kaiseki dinner for adults was different from that for children: kids were given juice, pudding, chips, an assortment of cutlets and karaage, miso soup (so the kids ate well). On January 1st breakfast, they served New Year's osechi (unfortunately, the menu for kids was not different here — the adults had to finish everything). A great authentic ryokan, delicious food, many private baths, conveniently located right in the middle of the village, with parking on the outskirts. 2025.12.31

409. Fumoto Ryokan, Kurokawa Onsen (pt.3) ★★ About the onsens: 6. Semi-open private bath Ichinoyu. Standing view of trees, rooftops of houses, and forest in the distance, but the view disappears inside the bath itself, though the atmosphere is pleasant. The water is clear, temperature about 41°C. 7. Indoor private small wooden bath Sannoyu. The water is clear, temperature about 45.5°C. Breathing inside is bearable, high humidity. 8. Indoor private small stone bath Ninoyu. The water is clear, temperature about 42°C. Breathing inside is normal. 9. Foot bath. 10. Semi-open private small bath Stone Bath. Essentially no view – to the neighboring roof, part of the settlement in the distance, and wires; sitting down most of the view is lost. The water is clear, with some fine brown lime deposits. Temperature about 44.5°C. 11. Semi-open private small bath Rock Bath. Essentially no view – a little of the building roofs. The water is clear, temperature about 44°C. 12. First indoor private bath from the main building. The bath is spacious, water is clear, temperature about 38°C. Breathing inside is normal. 13. Second indoor private bath from the main building. The water is clear, temperature about 38°C. Breathing inside is good. 14. Third indoor private small bath from the main building. The water is clear, temperature about 41.5°C. Inside it is somewhat stuffy, high humidity. 13.01.2025 31.12.2025 01.01.2026

409. Fumoto Ryokan, Kurokawa Onsen (pt.2) ★★ About the onsens: 2. Outdoor stone bath behind a fence with loopholes for viewing downwards; at the far edge under the roof is shallow water. Essentially no view, only neighboring buildings through the fence. The water is clear, but during some day visits it was slightly cloudy. Temperature is 42°C. 3. Standing private bath Tachiyu. One of the best private baths in the ryokan. The bath has several levels, the lowest being 160 cm deep. The water is clear, temperature 41-42°C. Excellent air quality inside. 4. Semi-open private bath Rokunoyu. One of the best private baths in the ryokan. View of bamboo through a curtain. The water is clear, temperature 40.5°C. 5. Semi-open private bath Gonoyu. One of the best private baths in the ryokan. View of bamboo through a curtain. The water is clear, temperature 40°C. 13.01.2025 31.12.2025 01.01.2026

409. Fumoto Ryokan, Kurokawa Onsen (pt.1) ★★ The ryokan with the largest number of private baths in Kurokawa - 11 available to all guests + 1 in the room (if you choose the appropriate room type). Stayed overnight. Located almost in the center of the village, close to the shrine with tegata (handprint stamps). Took double dinner and breakfast. Public men's and women's baths are available for day use from 08:30 to 21:00, with no gender changeover. Included in Kurokawa's tegata. All private baths are available only to guests. The ryokan consists of the main building (closer to the river) and an annex (across the street). Inside the main building, there is a wooden bridge leading to the bath area, from which you can see Fumoto buildings on one side and Shinmei-kan on the other. The ryokan has 8 rooms; I took a double room in European style with a small outdoor area and a private bath. It was very comfortable temperature-wise in winter. The staff are mostly Japanese, and there were no issues with service. Meals were served in a separate room; dinner was kaiseki and very decent. I booked accommodation for the dates from 31.12 to 01.01 for New Year's. The price for accommodation had no holiday surcharge and corresponded to the usual booking cost for this ryokan. Good ryokan, a large number of various private baths, excellent location, tasty food, no complaints about service, unusual public rotenburo for men and good public rotenburo for women - recommended for staying, especially if private baths are important. About the onsen: 1. Small private bath attached to the room, located in a separate space on the property near the room. The water is clear. Temperature is 44 degrees before mixing, but there is a layer of cold water at the bottom - after mixing it immediately becomes 37 degrees. Very comfortable to breathe inside. 13.01.2025 31.12.2025 01.01.2026

Food (dinner and breakfast) at Fumoto Ryokan, Kurokawa Onsen 31.12.2025 01.01.2026

For higaeri they only let you into one gender-separated rotenburo. They provide a towel. No shower. The rotenburo is located across a bridge from the main ryokan. It runs along the river, and you can see the river through special holes in the fence, which is nice. The water is fairly hot, but not extreme. There's also a section for exhibitionists - located higher up, with a lower fence, and the upper-floor windows of the hotel across are visible from practically anywhere in any position. Meanwhile, the water there is ankle-deep and cooler than in the main section. I didn't quite understand its purpose. Overall mixed feelings. I don't regret going, but if you're short on time, you can skip it.