Ryokan Majimaso

Majimaso sits in the Shiobara gorge in Tochigi, with the sound of the Hokki River just outside. The inn draws water from its own spring and runs it kakenagashi (源泉かけ流し, undiluted and unheated), so the baths stay fresh. The water is clear and mild, described as soft on the skin. Outdoors, both men's and women's sections have open-air baths looking out over the gorge forest. Inside, the large bath hall runs 24 hours. There's also a reclining jet bath that doubles as a jacuzzi and a wading pool about waist-deep where you walk through the water rather than float, which the inn promotes for circulation and light exercise. A small jizo statue found during the spring's drilling sits at the entrance, and the inn has long considered it a guardian of the water.