Yamizo

Yamizo is a hot-spring hotel on the Kuji River in Daigo, its indoor bath facing straight onto the water where anglers work the river for ayu each summer, with a ceramic mural on the bathhouse wall by a German-born potter. The spring water is mild and gentle on the skin, without a strong mineral edge. A dry sauna comes with the regular bath, and a separate barrel sauna with its own cold plunge can be booked for an extra fee. From September to January the hotel floats apples in the bath for its well-known apple bath, with a similar iris-petal soak each May and June. The 22 guest rooms, a mix of Japanese-style, Western twin and triple, and combined layouts, each have their own plain tub, though the onsen water itself stays in the shared bath. The restaurant serves local ingredients and a wide sake selection, and a ground-golf course in the garden draws multi-generation family groups.