Naniwa Issui

Naniwa Issui is a 23-room ryokan on the shore of Lake Shinji in Matsue, and every room has a lake view. Twenty of the twenty-three rooms have their own onsen-fed open-air or view bath, so many guests barely use the shared bath at all. The main bathhouse still keeps a separate indoor and outdoor bath for men and for women (no mixed bathing, no sauna), the outdoor one built like a small rock garden and named after an old Izumo tale about a spring where people once gathered to drink and sing. There is no bookable private bath in the bathhouse itself: guests who want to bathe alone can book one of the rooms that has its own bath instead. The spring water is hot and mineral-rich, and is said locally to leave the skin smooth. The inn has put real effort into accessibility too, with barrier-free rooms and bathing areas that have picked up international design awards, and it keeps children's yukata and a bath for babies on hand for families.