Kafutei - Okuyama no Kakure Yado

Kafutei is a small ryokan in the rice-paddy countryside of Kikuka, in the hills north of Yamaga, and calls itself a hidden inn. The main bath house splits into separate indoor and open-air baths for men and women, with a sauna on the open-air side; the rotenburo looks out over Kikuka's fields and hills. The water runs straight from the source without dilution or added heat, smooth and slightly slippery on the skin. Many of the nineteen guest rooms have their own open-air or half-open-air tub fed from the same spring, so a soak doesn't require leaving the room. The spring here is said to go back around 1300 years and has long been used by people in the area. The lobby is floored in tatami and walked barefoot, there is a small courtyard with a footbath fed by the same water, and the dining room serves a set dinner built around Kumamoto ingredients such as aka-gyu beef and basashi horse sashimi.