Setouchi Onsen Tamanoyu

Two open-air baths sit at the heart of Tamanoyu (たまの湯): Tanada-no-yu (棚田の湯), a stone-terraced rotenburo with views of the island-dotted Seto Inland Sea, and Sawa-no-yu (沢の湯), a wooded garden bath where a small waterfall flows among the trees. The two baths rotate between men's and women's sides on a weekly schedule. Inside, you can move between a hot white-water tub and a cooler natural-spring tub, or slip into a single-person Shigaraki ceramic bath that runs kakenagashi (かけ流し), fresh water flowing through without recirculation. The spring water is salty and warming, holding heat in the body well after you get out. Beyond the water, there are two saunas (a stadium-style dry sauna with automatic steam and an aromatic mist sauna), two ganbanyoku (岩盤浴) rooms with a cooldown chamber, and a tatami rest lounge on the second floor with a wide view over the sea.