Yama no Yado

Yama no Yado (山の宿). A really great ryokan — decent rooms (there's even a rocking chair), nice baths, excellent food. No higaeri. Baths are all kashikiri (4 in summer, 3 in winter). 2 indoor and 2 rotenburo. Right now there aren't many guests, so you can use any bath as much as you want, but I imagine when fully booked you'd need to sign up. The main bath is still Tsuru-no-Yu. The hotel runs a bus fairly often and until late; in summer you can apparently walk through the forest (but I think you'd need 3 cans of bear spray per person, otherwise the odds of not making it increase). Or drive your own car. Last bus from the ryokan at 20:15, return at 21:30. By car, guests can apparently stay until 22:30. No charge for using Tsuru-no-Yu. Rooms have toilets and even a bathtub. The hair dryer is very weak — better bring your own. I've been thinking lately about how to rate onsen for myself, and I decided on "would I want to come back." I'll definitely return to this one.