Kagiya Ryokan

Kagiya Ryokan has been welcoming guests in Hinoemata (檜枝岐) since 1892, and the old wooden building still feels the part. There are two indoor baths: a hinoki (cypress) bath called Miharashi-no-yu (みはらしの湯) and a stone bath called Seseragi-no-yu (せせらぎの湯), which swap between men and women at 9 PM and stay open through the night. The spring water is clear and reportedly smooth on the skin. The inn is a member of the Nihon Hito wo Mamoru-kai (日本秘湯を守る会, the society for preserving remote hot springs). The name "Kagiya" goes back to the old road checkpoint that once stood near here, whose key the innkeeper was said to hold.