Kin Kon Kan

Kin Kon Kan is a small group of whole-cottage rentals in the hills near Aso Kuju: three wood cottages under the Kin Kon Kan name, plus two adjoining rooms at Resort Oguni. Every cottage has its own indoor onsen bath running kakenagashi water from Yamakawa (山川), also called Hibira (日平) Onsen, and the grounds add two shared outdoor baths, one lined with rock and one fenced in bamboo, free for overnight guests and open to day visitors too. The water runs faintly cloudy with fine white flecks of yunohana (湯の花) and a smoky sulfur smell, and leaves skin feeling soft. It's a properly remote spot, forest and a waterfall in view from the outdoor baths, no convenience store for miles, and a small kitchen in every cottage for cooking your own meals. One cottage has a heart-shaped outdoor bath of its own, and another is styled after an old farmhouse with thick timber beams and a piano in the living room. Day-use bathers sometimes need to call ahead so the caretaker can come let them in, part of the low-key, do-it-yourself character of the place.