Higashine Onsen Ryokan Sakurayu

Ryokan Sakurayu is a small, family-run inn in Sakuranbo-Higashine onsen (さくらんぼ東根温泉). It has two separate indoor baths, one for men and one for women, with no rotenburo, sauna or private bath rental. The spring water is hot, warming, amber colored and mineral-rich, soft enough on the skin that the inn itself compares it to honey, and guests note it leaves skin noticeably smooth. Day bathing is open to outside visitors but by reservation only, and there is a footbath in the courtyard as well. Guest rooms are plain, calm tatami rooms without a bath of their own. Inside, reviewers describe an old-fashioned, almost Showa-era atmosphere, from a carved wooden pillar and a wooden chandelier in the lobby to consistently warm, attentive service from the staff, and note that the inn has kept going while some neighboring lodgings in the area have closed.