Yamanoyado Nonaka Onsen

A lone ryokan at the edge of the forest near Onneto lake, long used as a base for climbing Mt. Meakan. The baths, one indoor and one open-air rotenburo (露天風呂), run on a kakenagashi (掛け流し) sulfur spring so concentrated there is no soap and no shower tap; the water feels silky and the sulfur scent hangs in the air around the whole inn. On a snowy evening the rotenburo was as good as outdoor bathing in Hokkaido gets. The building, a rustic wooden inn going back to the Taisho period, burned down in January 2025 and is currently closed while the fourth-generation owner works toward reconstruction.