Akayu Onsen Yuyado Masugataya

Masugataya is a small, old-fashioned ryokan set back from the main street of Akayu Onsen, a hot spring with a history going back more than 920 years. The indoor bath is compact, just one tub and a couple of washing spots, but the water runs straight from the source with nothing added and nothing heated: guests describe it running hot, mildly sulfurous, with pale flecks of yu-no-hana (湯の花) floating in it. The inn calls it bijin-no-yu (美人の湯), "beauty water." The building itself is worn with age and creaks a bit at night, but reviewers keep coming back for the kind innkeeper and staff, generous home-style meals with Yonezawa beef, and a relaxed policy toward small dogs.