Tounomine Kanko Hotel

The hotel has two large baths, Mine-no-yu (峰の湯) and Tou-no-yu (塔の湯), that swap between the men's and women's sides each morning and evening; both have a sauna. Mine-no-yu is built as a rock bath with a small waterfall feature. The water is heated tap water rather than a natural hot spring, so there's no bathing tax and no mineral spring to speak of, just a plain, well-kept soak. The hotel stands directly across from Tanzan Shrine (談山神社), the forested precinct where Prince Naka no Oe and Nakatomi no Kamatari are said to have plotted the Taika Reform (大化の改新), and it has served travelers on this spot for over a hundred years. Deer wander the grounds after dark, guests say, and a small library in the east-wing lobby keeps a framed piece of calligraphy by the novelist Shiba Ryotaro (司馬遼太郎), who wrote about visiting Tonomine in his travel book.