Chugu Onsen Nishiyama Ryokan

The indoor bath is on the ground floor; the open-air bath is four floors up, looking out over forested mountain ridges. Both run on kakenagashi (源泉掛け流し), unrecirculated spring water, and the spring can be drunk directly at the source. It is a small, rustic place with old wooden fittings and an unhurried atmosphere, and a member of Nihon Hitou wo Mamoru Kai (日本秘湯を守る会), the society that looks after Japan's lesser-known hot springs. The inn is open from late spring through late autumn only.