Tsuru no Yu Matsushimakan

A small ryokan in Akayu with eight guest rooms and no large communal bath. Instead there are three private baths, two indoor and one rock-lined rotenburo, which guests can use whenever one is free, day or night, without booking. Three of the rooms also have their own onsen bath. Reviewers mention a faint sulfur scent and soft, smooth water that runs hot, so the bathwater is often cooled to taste. The mood is quiet and low-key, with local ingredients at dinner and Yamagata beef a regular favorite.