Arimaya Ryokan

Arimaya Ryokan is an old wooden inn in the middle of Higashiyama Onsen, right beside a mountain stream. It has separate baths for men and women, filled with fresh hot spring water that is not recirculated (kakenagashi, 源泉かけ流し). The inn says it was one of the spring outlets of Higashiyama back when the town counted eleven of them, known then as Suga-no-yu (菅の湯). On the irori plan, dinner is grilled over an irori hearth (囲炉裏), with grilled iwana (char) a regular mention. It is a quiet, old-fashioned stay rather than a polished one, with the sound of the river through the night.