Matsumoto Jūjō

Every room in both hotels here has its own semi-open-air bath, fed straight from the spring source rather than recirculated (kakenagashi). There's also a small shared bath, Koyanagi-no-yu, by the entrance: a simple semi-open-air tub drawing water directly from the same source pipe, open to overnight guests only and not bookable as a private bath, so it sometimes gets shared a few people at a time. The water itself runs clear, with no strong smell or taste. Matsumoto Jujo grew out of Koyanagi, a ryokan founded in 1686, reborn as two hotels with very different characters: Matsumoto Honbako, built around a bookstore and reading, and Koyanagi, redone as a hotel welcoming families with young kids. The old inn's grounds now also hold a bakery, shop and cafes, part of a deliberate effort to open what used to be a closed-off ryokan back out to the Asama Onsen neighborhood.