Yumoto KOGANEYU

Yumoto Koganeyu is a small hot-spring bathhouse and inn in the hills of Sapporo's Minami Ward, built around a spring settlers from Kumamoto found welling up under an old katsura tree in 1883; the tree, reckoned around 750 years old, still stands as the place's symbol. The water itself is clear, with a faint scent of sulfur, filling an outdoor bath with a seasonal view, a single-person tsubo-yu (つぼ湯) tub, and an indoor bath behind big windows, plus a jet bath and a cold plunge. Four separate sauna rooms range from a twin-stove aroma sauna to a low-heat mist sauna paired with a foot bath, and private baths can be booked same-day at the front desk. Old signage from the earlier Yumoto Nakaya (湯元なかや) ryokan, which ran here from the 1930s, is still on display inside, and the in-house restaurant, Kujira Shokudo (くじら食堂), welcomes anyone who just wants a meal; there are also rooms if you want to stay the night.