Furusawaya

Furusawaya is an old wooden ryokan on the Agano River in Kirinzan Onsen, Niigata, with views of the river and the surrounding mountains from every room. Bathing spans separate large baths for men and women, each opening onto its own outdoor bath, a reservable private open-air rock bath of local stone under a hinoki roof built around an old maple tree, with a round indoor tub beside it, and two room types, Seseragi (せせらぎ) and Soyokaze (そよかぜ), whose own natural hot spring open-air baths are open around the clock; the other rooms with their own bath use heated tap water. The tubs fill quietly from below rather than from a spout, so what carries over the water is the sound of the river itself. The spring water is clear and faintly salty, gentle on the skin, and kept deliberately lukewarm for a long soak while the light on the water changes through the day. The wooden building shows its age but is kept spotless, and the kitchen serves Oku-Aga (奥阿賀) cuisine built on local ingredients and Japan Sea seafood. Its garden grows rare varieties of yukitsubaki (雪椿), snow camellias tended by the owner, and blooms every spring.