Nuruyu Onsen

The name Nuruyu (微温湯) translates as "tepid water," and the spring lives up to it: the water runs unusually cool and clear, with a faint sulfur scent, flowing fresh in kakenagashi style. Indoor baths only, with separate facilities for men and women. The inn itself is a registered tangible cultural property, an old wooden building with sliding-door rooms at the end of a 6km mountain road. It belongs to the Nihon Hitou wo Mamoru Kai (日本秘湯を守る会), the association for Japan's secluded hot springs, and closes from late November through mid-April.