Ookura-so

Ookura-so is a family-run hot-spring minshuku (民宿) in Katashina, on the road toward Oze National Park and the Marunuma Kogen ski slopes. The single large indoor bath is filled with hot-spring water and split into separate sides for men and women. Meals are home-style and built around local produce, mountain vegetables in spring, then corn, tomatoes and lettuce through summer and autumn. The lobby has a picture-book corner and a piano, and the inn is easy with guests of any age, from small children to ski groups and hikers passing through.