Mikado

The indoor bath at this small ryokan in Nibukawa Onsen (鈍川温泉) looks out through glass over the river valley, and the water itself is soft and faintly slippery on the skin, kept mild rather than hot for a long, easy soak. The building is old, with a retro, Showa-era feel that keeps coming up in guest accounts, and the quiet Japanese-style rooms sit close enough to the stream to hear it and the birds outside. Nibukawa was once a toji (湯治) town for the local domain, one of three hot springs that old Iyo province was known for. Dinner leans on Setouchi mountain and sea ingredients built around a one-person hot pot of inobuta (猪豚), a wild boar and pig cross.