Toshimaya

Toshimaya is a small ryokan (15 rooms) above the Shima River in Shima Onsen, running on three springs of its own. Every bath, from the shared indoor and outdoor baths to the two reservable private baths and the open-air tubs built into some guest rooms, gets water that's never reheated, diluted, or recirculated. It comes up clear and faintly salty, the kind that keeps you warm well after you've dried off. The outdoor bath (men's and women's sides swap at 22:00) sits close enough to the river to hear it running. For a quieter soak, there's a cave-like private bath next to the main bathhouse and a smaller tea-room bath upstairs, both bookable in advance. The inn has been keeping house in this old spring town for a long time, with a fireside lounge and a terrace looking straight out over the water.