Takashimaya Hotel

Takashimaya is a small, old ryokan of just seven rooms in Kakuma Onsen, a quiet hot-spring village ringed by mountains in Yamanouchi. The indoor bath runs on source-fed water kept flowing fresh, smooth and a little slippery on the skin, and hot enough that some guests cool it down with a splash of tap water. Meals lean on home-style cooking with local ingredients. The inn still carries the feel of an old-fashioned toji (湯治) retreat: creaky floors, rattling sliding doors, and a quiet broken only by the sound of water running into the tub. Guests staying here also get free access to a shared bathhouse in the village.