Kumo no Ueno Hot Spring

Kumo no Ueno Onsen (雲の上の温泉, "above the clouds") is attached to the hotel that architect Kengo Kuma designed for Yusuhara in 1994. The spring water flows freely without recycling (kakenagashi, 源泉かけ流し) and is clear and nearly odorless, with a faint softness on the skin. Inside there is a main bath, a seasonal rotating bath (kawari-yu, 替わり湯) that changes monthly, a jet reclining bath, vibra bath, dry sauna, and cold bath. The outdoor bath sits on a wide wood deck set into the hillside, with forest filling the view around it. The rotenburo runs notably mild, easy to linger in. After soaking, a large tatami rest hall upstairs is where many people end up falling asleep.