Akebi Onsen

Akebi is a day-use bathhouse in the Kinugawa gorge built entirely around private baths: all ten rooms are kashikiri, booked by one party at a time, so there's no shared bathing area at all. Each room has two open-air baths, one built in wood and one in stone, filled with onsen water kept flowing (kakenagashi). The rooms sit along a wooded path above the river, and the baths look out over the water and surrounding forest. A lounge built from a relocated old farmhouse serves drinks and a local sweet, and there's a foot bath outside for waiting between soaks. Each room also has a fridge and kettle, and the room price includes towels.