Haruru-tei

Haruru-tei is a small minshuku on Route 55 near Shishikui Onsen, close to the Tokushima-Kochi border, and some of its rooms look out toward the sea. The bath is fed by the local hot spring, water that's smooth and a little slick on the skin, the kind locals call a beauty bath. Dinner is built around seafood from the local bay, kept alive in tanks until it's cooked, including ise-ebi spiny lobster raised so it can be served year-round rather than just in season. It's a modest, homey stopover, the kind of place a Shikoku pilgrim or a motorcycle traveler passing along the coast stops for the night.