Ryokan Hinoemata

Ryokan Hinoemata has two separate bathing halls, Hiuchigatake-no-yu (燧ヶ岳の湯) and Mizubasho-no-yu (みずばしょうの湯), built mostly of hinoki cypress, each paired with its own outdoor bath; the two swap between men's and women's use before and after dinner. One of the outdoor tubs has a tatami floor set into the wood, easier on bare feet than stone. The water itself is clear and odorless, and soft enough that the inn says it suits babies and people with sensitive skin. The outdoor baths sit right against the mountains around Oze, close enough that soaking there can feel like sitting in the middle of the forest. The ryokan belongs to Nihon Hitou wo Mamoru Kai (日本秘湯を守る会), the association for Japan's small, out-of-the-way hot spring inns, out here deep in the snow country of Oku-Aizu.