Yamabatoyu

Yamabatoyu (山鳩湯) sits in a deep gorge above a dam lake in Yoshino, Nara, built into the hillside using a local construction method called yoshinodatae (吉野建), where the rooms and baths descend floor by floor toward the water. The indoor bath is lined in cedar logs and the open-air bath is carved from a massive keyaki (zelkova) trunk. Both run on 100% kakenagashi, free-flowing from the facility's own spring. The water comes out clear, then slowly turns a warm ochre as it oxidizes in the tub; the mineral deposits that crust the basin walls show just how concentrated it is. Bathing in the open-air bath means sitting in the overflow from the indoor one, so it runs a touch cooler and gives a wide view of the gorge. The food is worth planning around: kamameshi (釜飯, individual iron-pot rice) needs to be ordered before you get in the bath, as it takes about 40 minutes. Game dishes, duck, wild boar and deer, are also on the menu.