Otowaya Ryokan

Otowaya is a small, 16-room ryokan a short walk from Echigo-Yuzawa Station, built around a source-flow onsen. There are two bathing areas, each with an indoor tub paired to an outdoor one: Ryujin-no-yu (龍神の湯) looks onto a small Japanese garden, while the other is built of stone. Men's and women's access to the two swaps on a schedule through the day, so a longer stay lets you try both. There are also two private baths you can book by the hour, one a plain cypress tub, and a private ganbanyoku (岩盤浴) room where you lie on warmed stone. The water is source-flow (kakenagashi), soft on the skin, and a short soak is enough to keep you warm well after you've dried off. The ryokan was founded in 1947 by its first owner, a man devoted to country kabuki who had spent years touring with troupes before settling in Yuzawa. The two bathing areas still carry names borrowed from kabuki, Kanjin-no-yu (勧進の湯) and Sukeroku-no-yu (助六の湯), a quiet nod to how it began.