Yumoto Choza

Yumoto Choza sits in the Fukuji area of Okuhida Onsen, housed in a building with old farmhouse character: heavy timber beams, irori (囲炉裏) hearths in the rooms, and a quietly rustic feel throughout. The spring here is said to date back to the Heian period, historically known as the Emperor's Spring (天皇泉, Tenno-sen), fed from wells at the foot of the active volcanoes Yakedake and Norikuradake. The water runs fresh in a kakenagashi (源泉掛け流し) flow across all the baths. There are several distinct places to soak: a large communal bath with both indoor and outdoor sections, three free-to-use private baths each with an attached open-air tub, a cluster of five private rotenburo in a wooded grove called Shizuku-no-yu (雫の湯), and a separate riverside open-air bath, Kawara-no-yu (かわらの湯), where you can hear the stream and the birds.