Takata Green Land (Kumotori Onsen)

A country onsen up a quiet valley in the Kumano hills outside Shingu. Three baths, each kept at its own temperature: an open-air rock bath with pale milky water, forest all around and a clear river running past; a big, plain indoor bath; and a herbal bath brewed with tendai-uyaku (天台烏薬), an evergreen that local legend ties to Jofuku (徐福), the envoy sent by China's first emperor to look for the elixir of immortality and said to have found the plant here in Shingu. The water is an alkaline simple spring, soft, and leaves the skin smooth. The rest of it is an unfussy country complex: simple rooms, a big tatami hall, a manga corner, a ping pong table.