Hanabun Onsen Hotel

Hanabun sits in Tsubame Onsen (燕温泉), a remote hot-spring village in Myoko, Niigata, buried under snow each winter and reachable only by a winding mountain road. The water is a milky white sulfur spring, flowing fresh without recirculation, gentle on the skin. There are two sets of baths: indoor baths on the first floor and a second-floor indoor bath with an attached rotenburo looking out over Otagiri Gorge. The two sets rotate between men and women on an 80-minute schedule, so guests get access to both over a stay. Day use is also available in season. The inn draws from two separate spring sources, Kawara-no-yu (河原の湯) and Kogane-no-yu (黄金の湯), which also feed a pair of free public outdoor baths a short walk away. A small foot bath beside the inn is open to passers-by as well. Tsubame Onsen is said to have been discovered by the Buddhist monk Kukai (空海) in the early Heian period, and the wild riverside bath below is traditionally known as a hideaway of the warlord Uesugi Kenshin (上杉謙信).