Negiya Ryofukaku

350. Negiya Ryofukaku, Arima Onsen Stayed overnight with meals (booked and paid for a single-person stay, i.e., with a kaiseki set for one). The food was good, enjoyed it. You can order a massage — an external specialist comes and does it in the room on a futon (they did a good job). The ryokan has a small lounge-library area where you can find our matryoshka from Azhn on the bookshelf. There were quite a few foreign tourists, but the staff tried their best to provide decent service, even if it didn't always work out in the details. All baths in the establishment (private and public): brown water = onsen water, clear water = tap water. Private baths by reservation for 3300 yen. Public baths rotate between men/women. 1. First set of baths accessed via outdoor stairs. 1.1. Outdoor bath on a large separate balcony. Water is cloudy brown, slightly translucent. Temperature around 43. View through a fence at trees, but still pleasant. 1.2. Indoor bath in two parts: a large rectangular one and a round one. Clear tap water, temperature around 42. Breathing is fine. 2. Second set of baths accessed from inside the ryokan. 2.1. Small outdoor bath. Water is cloudy brown, slightly translucent. Temperature around 40-41. 2.2. Indoor bath with clear tap water. Temperature around 40-41. Breathing is good. 3. Private bath Natsume. Breathing is comfortable. 3.1. Small bath with cloudy brown water, temperature around 41-42. The bath is enclosed but effectively in the open air. 3.2. Indoor bath with clear tap water, temperature around 40-41. 4. Private bath Yuzuriha. Breathing is comfortable. 4.1. Small bath with brown water, temperature around 43. 4.2. Bath with clear tap water, temperature around 45. The place has some drawbacks: of the two water types only the brown one is actual onsen water, there are quite a lot of foreign tourists, the private baths are underwhelming, the service is generally good but could be better. But despite all that, the rotenburo are worthy, I felt cozy inside, and overall I liked the place — looks like a solid choice and worth considering for a stay in Arima if the price is right.