Inn Ryokuzansou Norikura Kogen

Ryokuzanso is a small minshuku (民宿, family-run guesthouse) with just four rooms, roughly in the middle of Norikura Kogen. The inn has four baths altogether: two open-air baths that guests reserve for private use, and two indoor baths, all filled with the same milky white, sulfur-scented spring water. The tubs are made of hiba (檜葉) wood, and the water runs straight from a source higher up the Yugawa (湯川) valley, led down to the inn by the natural drop in elevation alone and kept flowing fresh rather than recirculated. Cream-colored flecks of yu-no-hana (湯の花) drift in the water, a sign of how strong the spring is; the same mineral flakes were once sold as Norikura Kogen's main local product in the early Showa years, and they're still a common souvenir here. The open-air baths look different through the year, fresh green in spring, colored leaves in autumn, snow in winter. Meals are home-style Shinshu cooking built around mountain vegetables and produce from the highlands, and with only four rooms, guests tend to get a lot of personal attention from the family who runs the place.