Misasa Royal Hotel

Misasa Royal Hotel stands above the Misasa river on the edge of Misasa onsen, with baths that open onto a green Japanese garden. The indoor and outdoor baths, one each for men and women, swap each morning, and the outdoor bath sits right in that garden. Next to it is a mist house: a steam room filled with a fine mist of atomized spring water instead of dry heat, so you breathe the onsen as much as soak in it. There is also a reservation-only private family bath finished in scented wood. Day-use bathing runs in the afternoon and evening. The building has an old-fashioned, long-running feel but is kept clean and well cared for, and it leans toward families, with a kids' corner off the lobby and a seasonal outdoor pool next to the baths.