Grand Mercure Nara Kashihara

Grand Mercure Nara Kashihara is a modern hotel right by Kashiharajingu-Mae Station. Its basement bathing hall is fed by the hotel's own hot spring source: there's no open-air bath, just one indoor bathing hall, plus a sauna, and guests can head up afterward to a calm onsen lounge for a drink. Some who've bathed there say the water leaves skin feeling smooth. The hotel doubles as a base for visiting Kashihara Jingu shrine and the historic village of Asuka nearby, with a choice of Western or Japanese-style rooms and a buffet restaurant.