Fukuzumi

Fukuzumi is a small, eight-room ryokan at the entrance to Matsunoyama Onsen, one of Japan's three major therapeutic hot springs alongside Kusatsu and Arima. The main bath here is on the rooftop: two private, roofless open-air tubs open to guests around the clock, best taken after dark for stargazing or, in winter, for watching snow fall over the surrounding mountains. Downstairs there is a separate-sex indoor bath. The spring water is clear, salty, and a little bitter, warming rather than sharp. Two of the eight rooms have their own open-air onsen tub built in. Owls turn up throughout the building, a running motif of the place, and of the seven ryokan that once lined this hot spring street, Fukuzumi was the only one left standing after a fire swept through in 1954.