Gensen Kakenagashi no Yado Yoshidaya

Yoshidaya is a ten-room ryokan on a rise above Arifuku Onsen, an old hot-spring town in Shimane. The indoor bath runs on the inn's own alkaline source, in a small room that holds four or five bathers at a time, and a private bath can be booked by the hour, by guests and day visitors alike. The water feels soft and faintly silky, part of why Arifuku's spring has long been called the bijin no yu (美人の湯), water said to leave skin smooth. The inn's history runs back around 300 years to the Edo period, and the main building and guest rooms were extensively renovated in 2022. Rooms look out over wooded mountain slopes, there's a guest lounge for local sake, and an outdoor deck where drinks can be enjoyed with a view over the town. On Saturday nights, the Iwami Kagura, a traditional masked dance, is performed at a hall nearby.