Zao Kokusai Hotel Yamagata

Zao Kokusai Hotel stands right by the Zao Onsen ski slopes, close enough that guests can walk their gear straight from the lobby to the lifts. The spring is a milky white sulfur water, piped in at full source strength to the main bath, Hachiemon no Yu (八右衛門の湯), which has both an indoor pool and an open-air one under a log-beam ceiling that leaves bare wood and the smell of sulfur in the air. Three private baths can be booked by the hour: a hinoki cypress tub for up to seven, a smaller granite tub for two or three, and a barrier-free one, all looking out toward the mountains and the river. A footbath by the terrace stays open around the clock, handy for a quick soak between runs on the slopes.