Akiu Onsen Saryo Souen

Saryo Souen is a traditional ryokan in Akiu Onsen, along the Natori River valley outside Sendai. Most of the detached (離れ) guest rooms have their own private outdoor bath, so bathing here is mostly a solo affair in your room rather than a shared bath, though the main building also keeps separate indoor and outdoor baths for men and women, plus a sauna. The spring water is warming and faintly salty on the skin. Akiu is counted among Japan's three imperial hot springs, with a legend that Emperor Kinmei (欽明天皇) bathed here and was cured of a skin ailment, and the Date clan (伊達家) later kept a bathing house at the same spring. The ryokan itself is built in sukiya style (数寄屋造り), with a Japanese garden visible from every room and kaiseki (懐石) dinners served privately rather than in a communal dining hall.