Magokoro-no-yado Marui-ryokan

The ryokan has one indoor bath for men and one for women, both built entirely of cypress. The water comes from Ryujin Komatagawa Onsen (龍神小又川温泉), a separate source from the better-known Ryujin Onsen springs nearby, one of Japan's three so-called beauty-water hot springs (日本三美人の湯, Nihon san bijin no yu). Bathers describe this water the same way: soft and faintly silky on the skin. There's no open-air bath, though either bath can be booked for exclusive private use on weekdays, in one of two time slots, with advance arrangement. A corridor the inn calls Ryugasho (龍臥床) runs from the main building, under the highway, to reach the bathhouse, a layout unusual enough that the inn points it out itself. Run by the same family since it opened in 1927, the ryokan serves dinner built around river fish such as amago and ayu with local mountain vegetables, usually brought to the room. Windows in the bath and the guest rooms look out over the Hidaka River and the hills around Ryujin village.