Yumori Onsen Hotel Suginoyu

Suginoyu sits above the Okuyoshino gorge in Kawakami, deep in the Yoshino mountains, with two separate bathhouses that swap between men and women once a day. One has a wood-lined indoor bath and a small oval cypress rotenburo; the other has a stone indoor bath, a rock-lined outdoor bath, and a hinoki cypress sauna. Both draw on the hotel's own Yumori (湯盛) spring, and the outdoor tubs look straight out over the river and surrounding peaks. The spring itself runs cool underground, so the water is warmed before it reaches the baths, and guests describe it as gentle rather than sharp. There's also a paid private family bath (not filled with spring water) and a restaurant open to day visitors at lunch. The hotel is also known locally as a place where the retired Emperor and Empress once stopped to rest.