Shimobe Hotel

Shimobe Hotel is a large ryokan in Shimobe Onsen with twelve baths across the property, seven of them open-air, fed by three different springs: two piped-in alkaline springs and the hotel's own sulfur spring, which rises right in the garden. The water runs noticeably lukewarm rather than hot, so many bathers move between the warm baths and a separate cold plunge for contrast bathing. There's also a jet bath, a foot bath looking over the garden, and a private reservation-only bath (Taketonbo no Yu, book by phone or email a day ahead). Two of the newer suite rooms come with their own in-room open-air bath fed by the house spring. The hotel sits inside a stretch of forest below Shimobe Onsen station, with a small waterfall and mountain views from the cypress outdoor bath. It's an old-style, full-service hotel rather than a quiet retreat: day-use bathing, restaurants, and lounges keep the place lively, and it's one of the few hotels still going strong in a hot-spring town where many old inns have closed.