山あいの宿 喜安屋

Kiyasuya is a small, ten-room ryokan in the hills above Sujiyu Onsen, reached by its own lane away from the main hot-spring town. Every room has its own outdoor bath, and no two are quite alike: some are cut stone, some hinoki wood, some red stone. The shared bathhouse adds a rock-lined open-air bath for men and women plus a quieter indoor bath in cut stone under soft lighting, and a separate building across the road holds two reservable private outdoor baths and two family baths. The water is clear and faintly salty, smooth on the skin, and runs straight from the source around the clock. The building's earthen walls and black board fencing recall an old farmhouse, and Kiyasuya belongs to the Nihon Hitou wo Mamoru Kai (日本秘湯を守る会), a group of remote hot-spring inns. Dinner is served in a private room in a separate dining hall, built around Bungo (豊後) beef, yamame (山女魚) trout, and foraged mountain vegetables.