Luxury onsen ryokan and hot-spring hotels in Japan

The Ritz-Carlton, Nikko

ザ・リッツ・カールトン日光

On the shore of Lake Chuzenji, looking out at the lake on one side and Mount Nantai on the other. It was the brand's first resort in Japan built with a hot spring, and has a communal bath in the building.

HOSHINOYA Tokyo

星のや東京

A tower ryokan in Otemachi, two floors below ground and seventeen above. You take off your shoes at the entrance and walk tatami corridors to your room, a layout carried through the whole building. All 84 rooms sit six to a floor around a shared ochanoma lounge. On the top floor is an open-air bath fed by the Otemachi hot spring, drawn from 1,500 metres below ground.

Aman Kyoto

アマン京都

In a private forest at the foot of Takagamine, north of Kinkaku-ji. It sits away from the city, and the grounds are covered in moss and cedar. The buildings are kept low and scattered, so that walking the garden becomes part of the stay.

Amanemu

アマネム

A hot spring resort inside Ise-Shima National Park, on high ground looking down over Ago Bay. Low buildings are spread across the slope, and every room has its own indoor hot spring bath.

HOTEL THE MITSUI KYOTO

HOTEL THE MITSUI KYOTO

Directly opposite Nijo Castle, on the site of the Mitsui family’s own residence. You enter through the Kajiimiya gate, moved here and rebuilt, and the guest wings stand around a garden at the centre. A thermal spring drawn from under the grounds feeds the bathhouse.

ROKU KYOTO, LXR Hotels & Resorts

ROKU KYOTO

A low-rise resort at the foot of the Takagamine hills, next to the Shozan gardens. It has a communal bath fed by a natural hot spring and an outdoor pool facing the garden. Being out of the city, it is quiet in a way the centre is not.

ATAMI Sekaie

ATAMI せかいえ

On high ground at Izusan in Atami, with every room facing the sea. Each has an open-air hot spring bath turned towards the water, and the view runs out towards Hatsushima. It keeps the number of rooms low.

THE HIRAMATSU Karuizawa Miyota

THE HIRAMATSU 軽井沢 御代田

A grand auberge in the woods at Miyota, next door to Karuizawa. The rooms face the forest and each has its own hot spring bath. Being away from the centre of Karuizawa, there is little built up around it.

FUFU Hakone

ふふ 箱根

A mountain resort ringed by the Hakone range. Every room has a hot-spring bath in a bathroom whose windows open wide — not a separate outdoor bath. The rooms use Gora onsen and the communal baths Owakudani onsen, two different springs. The buildings are kept low along the slope, so what fills the windows is green.

Gora Kadan

強羅花壇

A long-established ryokan at Gora, on the site of a former imperial family villa. The buildings step down the slope, and the long corridors and the windows keep the mountain green in view. Some rooms have their own open-air bath.

HOSHINOYA Karuizawa

星のや軽井沢

A resort laid out like a village, with the rooms scattered along the water in the fold of a valley. Terraced channels run through the grounds, and you walk between the buildings to get anywhere. It has its own hot spring, called the Meditation Bath.

Araya Totoan

あらや滔々庵

A ryokan at Yamashiro Onsen in Kaga, run by the same family for eighteen generations since the days of the feudal domain. It is about ten minutes by car from JR Kaga Onsen Station and has a large bath drawing water straight from the source. Yamashiro is known as a place where the artist Rosanjin stayed, and Kutani porcelain kilns are scattered around it. It holds one Michelin Key in the 2026 selection.

FUFU Tokyo Ginza

ふふ 東京 銀座

The first city address for FUFU, which built its name in hot spring towns. It stands in Ginza 1-chome and still pipes hot spring water to the rooms. The building is made to shut out the street, given over entirely to holding on to quiet in the middle of the city.

Asaba

あさば

A long-established ryokan at the centre of Shuzenji Onsen, with a Noh stage set across the pond. The view over the water to the stage is the image of the place, and the surface of the pond changes with the season.

Kawana Hotel

川奈ホテル

A classic hotel, now 90 years old, on a rise above the sea at Kawana on the Izu Peninsula. It is known as a golf resort, with courses including the Fuji Course, laid out along the natural lie of the land. Sea-facing rooms, the lobby and the sun parlour look out on the sun rising over the Sagami Sea. The hotel also has Brisa Marina, a bathing facility with an open-air bath.

YUFUIN TAMANOYU

由布院 玉の湯

A ryokan standing in about 10,000 square metres of coppice woodland in the Kawakami area of Yufuin. It began in 1953 as a retreat for a Zen temple and became an inn while keeping those buildings. There are 16 rooms, each with its own garden and a cypress indoor bath fed by the same spring as the public bath. The water is a simple hot spring, weakly alkaline at pH 8.2 and clear. The public bath has both an indoor and an open-air bath on the men’s and the women’s side, and Mount Yufu is in view from the open-air one. About three minutes by car from JR Yufuin Station, and within walking distance of Lake Kinrin and the Yunotsubo shopping street. One Key in the 2026 Michelin selection.

Hakone Suishoen

箱根・翠松園

An all-suite ryokan on the high ground at Gora, with a wing that carries over the design of an early Showa villa. The rooms run to around 100 square metres, large for Hakone, and each has a hot spring bath.

Park Hyatt Niseko Hanazono

パーク ハイアット ニセコ HANAZONO

On the slopes of the Hanazono area in Niseko, with ski-in, ski-out access and rooms that face Mount Yotei head-on. It has a communal hot spring bath and a pool.

Hakone Gora Karaku

箱根・強羅 佳ら久

An east and a west wing on high ground at Gora, every room with its own open-air hot spring bath. The view runs across the Hakone range and, on a good day, out to Sagami Bay. There is a bath with a view on the top floor.

Hotel Hatsuhana

はつはな

A hotel on the Sukumo river, beyond Hakone-Yumoto. Every room has an open-air hot spring bath on its terrace, fed by the hotel’s own source. Inside are two communal bathhouses and four private baths, each done differently.

TENKU

天空の森

A resort near the top of a hill in Kirishima, Kagoshima, where only five villas with their own hot-spring baths stand far apart from one another. Three are for overnight stays: Tenku, the largest on the property; Akanesasu Oka, built to face the sunset; and Rinu no Mori, wrapped in forest. The other two are for day use only. Every villa has an open-air bath looking out over the landscape. It was opened in 2004 by Tateo Tajima, who founded Gajoen at Myoken Onsen.

FUFU Nara

ふふ 奈良

Beside Nara Park, near the old Daijo-in garden. A low building that Kengo Kuma had a hand in designing, with a hot spring bath in every room. One of the few places of this kind in Nara.

FUFU Karuizawa

ふふ 軽井沢 陽光の風

A FUFU house in the woods at Karuizawa, every room with a hot spring bath. It is a separate property from FUFU Kyu-Karuizawa in the same town, and differs in both setting and how the rooms are arranged.

Zaborin

坐忘林

A ryokan of detached villas in the birch woods at Hanazono in Niseko. Each villa has both an indoor and an open-air hot spring bath, and they are placed so that no villa sees another.

Myoken Ishiharaso

妙見石原荘

A hot-spring ryokan on the Amori River in Kirishima, with rooms spread over grounds of about 10,000 tsubo. It is about 15 minutes by car from Hayato Station on the Nippo Line and about 20 minutes from Kagoshima Airport. It faces a river flowing down from the Kirishima mountains and has an open-air bath on the riverbank. It holds one Michelin Key in the 2026 selection.

The Westin Miyako Kyoto

ウェスティン都ホテル京都

A long-established hotel on a rise at Awataguchi in Higashiyama. Besides the main building it has Kasuien, a sukiya-style annex designed by Togo Murano, one of the leading architects of Japanese modernism. Its 2,100 sqm spa, fed by a hot spring drilled on the grounds, is among the largest in Kyoto and has a rooftop garden and an outdoor pool.

FUFU Kyoto

ふふ 京都

The FUFU house in Kyoto, on the approach to Nanzen-ji, with a hot spring bath in every room. Temples and old villa grounds surround it, and it sounds nothing like the middle of the city.

FUFU Nikko

ふふ 日光

Next to the Nikko Tamozawa Imperial Villa Memorial Park, with a hot spring bath in every room and the greenery of the Daiya river in front of it. Toshogu is a few minutes away by car.

FUFU Kawaguchiko

ふふ 河口湖

A FUFU house in the woods by Lake Kawaguchi, every room with its own hot spring bath. On the right day Mount Fuji shows itself from the rooms and the public areas, but that is entirely down to the weather.

Sekitei

庭園の宿 石亭

A ryokan of 12 rooms at Miyahama Onsen, across the water from Miyajima. The rooms are spread through a garden of about 1,500 tsubo and fall into three kinds: rooms in the main house, detached rooms and separate pavilions. Every room has its own bath, open-air or semi-open-air among them. Dinner is served in your room and breakfast in the dining hall. It holds two Michelin Keys in the Michelin Guide 2026.

Nakanobo Zuien

有馬温泉 中の坊 瑞苑

A ryokan at Arima Onsen. Arima is said to have begun with twelve lodges built to guard the Buddha of healing, and this house carries on one of them. It is kept as a quiet place and does not accept guests under 13. Check-in is at 14:00 and check-out at 12:00, so a stay can run to 22 hours. Some rooms have an open-air bath fed by the clear radon spring; the finest of them is 138 sqm for up to six, with a twelve-mat Japanese room, a tea room, a twin bedroom and that bath. Guests may also use the baths, the viewing bath on the ninth floor, the lobby lounge and the shop at the sister hotel next door, except on days it is closed. Two minutes on foot from the bus stop.

FUFU Kyu-Karuizawa

ふふ 旧軽井沢 静養の森

A house in the woods of Kyu-Karuizawa with a hot spring bath in every room. The stand of trees on the site was left as it was, so what a room looks onto is forest rather than the next building. A separate property from FUFU Karuizawa in the same town.

FUFU Atami

ふふ 熱海

A FUFU house on the high ground in Atami, every room with an open-air hot spring bath. What you see depends on whether you face the sea or the hills. The building is given over to rest; it takes no day visitors.

Sekitaitei Ishida

昼神温泉 石苔亭いしだ

A single-storey ryokan of 17 rooms at Hirugami Onsen, about seven minutes from the Iida-Yamamoto interchange of the Chuo Expressway and about 25 minutes by free transfer (by reservation) from JR Iida Station. It has a Noh stage with regular performances, rooms with open-air baths and a spa. Hirugami Onsen is in Achi village, known for stargazing, with night tours by ropeway.

THE HIRAMATSU Kashikojima

THE HIRAMATSU 賢島

A hotel built around its food on Kashikojima, facing Ago Bay. It has a thalassotherapy spa using seawater, and rooms looking out at the islands in the bay. Ise Jingu is within driving distance.

Kitanokaze Saryo

仙石原温泉 きたの風茶寮

A Japanese-style auberge at Sengokuhara in Hakone, serving kaiseki that combines ingredients from Hokkaido and Hakone. It is about 40 minutes by bus from Hakone-Yumoto Station, or about two hours by highway bus from Shinjuku, one minute on foot from the Senkyoro-mae stop. Sengokuhara is a high plateau of pampas grass and museums, and the Pola Museum and the Glass Forest museum are easy to reach by car. It keeps its room count small.

Omuro no Mori Gyokusui

大室の杜 玉翠

A hot-spring inn of just nine rooms on a rise at Yawatano in Izu Kogen, about eight minutes by car from Izukogen Station (with a transfer). Every room has an open-air bath with hot-spring water flowing straight from the source, and the inn looks down on the Sagami Sea. Mount Omuro and the Jogasaki coast are close. Dinners are kaiseki centred on Izu seafood, and the rooms are built almost like separate cottages.

Gora Hanaogi Madoka no Mori

強羅花扇 円かの杜

A hot-spring inn at Gora in Hakone, with an open-air hot-spring bath in every room. There is a free transfer from Gora or Sounzan Station, and the Hakone Tozan Railway and cable car reach the surrounding sights. The Hakone Open-Air Museum and Gora Park are close. The building uses timber from Hida, and dinners feature Hida beef. There is also a large communal bath.

ABBA RESORTS IZU - Zagyoso

ABBA RESORTS IZU ― 坐漁荘

A hot-spring inn (Zagyoso) at Yawatano in Izu Kogen, about five minutes by car from Izukogen Station on the Izu Kyuko line and around two hours 25 minutes by car from Tokyo. The rooms are arranged around a garden, and there are several hot-spring baths. Mount Omuro and the Jogasaki coast are easy to reach, and dinners are kaiseki made with Izu ingredients.

ANA InterContinental Beppu Resort & Spa

ANAインターコンチネンタル別府リゾート&スパ

A resort at Kannawa in Beppu, about 20 minutes by car from Beppu Station and about 50 minutes from Oita Airport, with a transfer by reservation. It has a hot spring and a spa, in Kannawa, the steaming district of Beppu’s jigoku. It holds one Michelin Key in the 2026 selection, has several restaurants and looks out over Beppu Bay.

DANQOO

DANQOO

An inn by the sea in Kyonan, Chiba, made for staying with your dog. All ten rooms have hot-spring baths you can use with your dog, meals are served in private dining rooms, and there are two dog runs lit for use at night.

Rainbow Village

Rainbow Village

Villas on the coast at Mihama, Fukui, about six minutes by car from JR Mihama Station. Every villa has an ocean view and a hot-spring bath, and each stands on its own. It faces Wakasa Bay, a base for swimming and fishing, with the Mikata Five Lakes and the Rainbow Line an easy drive. There is little light around at night, so the stars are easy to see. Wakasa Bay’s water is clear, and summer brings many swimmers.

The Windsor Hotels Toya Resort & Spa

ザ・ウィンザーホテル洞爺 リゾート&スパ

On the summit of Mount Poromoi, looking out at Lake Toya on one side and Uchiura Bay on the other. It is known as the site of the 2008 G8 summit.

FUFU Jogashima

ふふ 城ヶ島 海風のしらべ

A FUFU house on Jogashima, at the tip of the Miura Peninsula, facing the Pacific. Every room looks at the sea. For somewhere this close to Tokyo, a place of this kind on the open coast is rare.

Sanso Warabino

由布院温泉 山荘 わらび野

A hot-spring inn in the Kawakita district of Yufuin Onsen, about five minutes by car from JR Yufuin Station and about three minutes from the Yufuin interchange; the airport bus from Oita takes about 55 minutes to Yufuin Station. It stands on high ground facing Mount Yufu, with a hot spring, away from the bustle of the centre.

Nishimuraya Honkan

西村屋 本館

A traditional Japanese ryokan at Kinosaki Onsen, founded in the Ansei era of the Edo period. It is a 15-minute walk from Kinosaki Onsen Station (with a free bus from the ryokan association), and about 18 minutes by car from the Toyooka-Izushi interchange. Kinosaki is known for its round of public baths, and all seven are within walking distance. It holds two Michelin Keys in the 2026 selection, has its own garden and serves kaiseki made with ingredients from Tajima.

NOT A HOTEL KITAKARUIZAWA

NOT A HOTEL KITAKARUIZAWA

Villas scattered through a large forest in Kitakaruizawa. IRORI (three bedrooms, up to 8 guests) is a glass-walled house built around a sunken hearth; BASE, directed by Yosuke Aizawa, has a rock bath filled with hot-spring water. One of the two IRORI houses has a dog run, so you can bring a dog.

NOT A HOTEL MINAKAMI

NOT A HOTEL MINAKAMI

TOJI is a group of five villas on a hilltop in Minakami, near the source of the Tone River. SUPPOSE DESIGN OFFICE planned it as a modern hot-spring village under copper roofs laid in the traditional ichimonji style. A 15-metre infinity pool wraps around the living room, with a natural hot-spring bath, sauna and cold plunge alongside.

Bettei Ichika

信州松本 浅間温泉 別亭 一花

A ten-room inn at Asama Onsen, known as Matsumoto’s retreat, about ten minutes by car from JR Matsumoto Station and one minute on foot from the Shimo-Asama Hiroba bus stop. Matsumoto Castle and the city centre are easy to reach, and it makes a base for Kamikochi. Guests can use the Asama Onsen water. Buses from Matsumoto Station run to Kamikochi and Utsukushigahara.

Bettei Senjuan

別邸 仙寿庵

A ryokan at Tanigawa Onsen in Minakami, with an open-air bath fed directly from the hot spring in every room. It is about 25 minutes by bus from Jomo-Kogen Station on the Joetsu shinkansen, about eight minutes by car from Minakami Station on the Joetsu line and about ten minutes from the Minakami interchange. It sits at the foot of Mount Tanigawa and holds one Michelin Key in the 2026 selection, with a large bath and a dining room.

Bettei Otozure

別邸 音信

A ryokan at Nagato-Yumoto Onsen, with a free transfer (by reservation) from JR Nagato-Yumoto Station. It stands on the Otozure River and combines the feel of an old bathing inn with modern facilities. Nagato-Yumoto is said to be the oldest hot-spring town in Yamaguchi, and the inn holds one Michelin Key in the 2026 selection. It has several baths, and the riverside promenade is easy to walk.

Atami Club Geihinkan

熱海倶楽部 迎賓館

A hot-spring inn on the heights of Izusan in Atami, about eight minutes by car from Atami Station and next to Atami Golf Club. Every room has a semi-open-air bath with hot-spring water flowing straight from the source. It looks down on Sagami Bay, a little away from the town centre. On the night of Atami’s fireworks, they can sometimes be seen from the sea-facing rooms.

Hotel Kawakyu

白浜温泉 ホテル川久

A resort hotel on the coast at Nanki-Shirahama, about ten minutes by car from JR Shirahama Station (free shuttle bus) and about ten minutes from Nanki-Shirahama Airport. Most rooms are ocean-view suites, and guests can use the Shirahama hot spring. Meals are mainly buffet-style. Nanki-Shirahama is known for Shirarahama Beach and its hot springs, about an hour from Haneda by air.

Saryo Soen

秋保温泉 茶寮宗園

A Japanese-style ryokan at Akiu Onsen, known as Sendai’s retreat, about 30 minutes by car from JR Sendai Station and 15 minutes from the Sendai-minami interchange, with a shuttle bus by reservation. It sits in the onsen town along the Natori River, with rooms arranged around a Japanese garden, and guests can use the Akiu water.

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DEAR WAN SPA GARDEN

Dear Wan Spa Garden

A villa property for staying with your dog, on the grounds of the Resol no Mori spa resort in Nagara, Chiba. It takes ten parties a day, in two room types: VILLA twin for one to three people and VILLA fourth for three to five. Each unit has its own natural hot spring bath and a private dog run of at least 135 square metres, surfaced with wood chips that are easier on a dog’s legs. The water is a dark brown sodium bicarbonate spring drawn from 600 m below ground. Meals can be taken in the room, as a barbecue on the private terrace, or as a kaiseki course in a historic building on the grounds. About 60 minutes by car from central Tokyo.

Smith’s Ie Chosei

スミスのいえ長生

A whole-house rental in Chosei village, Chiba, about 17 minutes by car from JR Mobara Station. It has hot-spring water piped in, and dogs are welcome. It is in the southern part of Kujukuri Beach, with the coast an easy drive, about an hour and a half from Tokyo by car, surrounded by farmland and pine woods.

GORA KADAN FUJI

強羅花壇 富士

Opened by Gora Kadan on 20 July 2025 at Subashiri in Oyama, on the eastern foot of Mount Fuji. All 42 rooms are suites, three of them detached villas. The communal baths, fed by a natural alkaline spring from below the grounds, have both indoor and open-air pools, and the heated swimming pool is set so that the window runs out towards Fuji. There is a golf course on the grounds.

Ryotei Hanzuiryo

旅亭 半水盧

An inn of separate villas at Unzen Onsen, with 14 sukiya-style villas on about 5,000 tsubo, each with its own garden. It is about 90 minutes by bus or 55 minutes by taxi from JR Isahaya Station. Unzen was the first area in Japan to be designated a national park and is known for its steaming jigoku. It holds one Michelin Key in the 2026 selection and has a hot-spring bath; Unzen’s walking trails are a short walk away.

Tabiyu Abrigo

有馬温泉 旅湯 アブリーゴ

A whole-house rental at Arima Onsen, one of Japan’s three oldest hot springs, about five minutes on foot from Arima-Onsen Station on the Kobe Electric Railway, close enough to walk the Yumoto-zaka streets. The building is rented to one group and has hot-spring water piped in. Its name means ‘hideaway’ in Portuguese. Arima is known for its two waters, Kinsen and Ginsen, and is about 30 minutes by car from central Kobe.

NOT A HOTEL NASU

NOT A HOTEL NASU

A group of private villas on the Nasu highlands, designed by Makoto Tanijiri's SUPPOSE DESIGN OFFICE. Each house is built around a different idea: MASTERPIECE (three bedrooms, up to 10 guests) has a pool cantilevered out over the plateau, CAVE sets its cold plunge in a dim, cave-like room, and THINK adds a detached study. Every house has its own sauna and fireplace.

Yufuin Luxury Villa Zakuro

Yufuin Luxury Villa -zakuro-

An inn of separate villas in the Kawaminami district of Yufuin Onsen, taking just three groups a day, about five minutes by car from JR Yufuin Station. Every room is a suite with an open-air hot-spring bath, designed for two. The villas stand apart, so your path rarely crosses other guests’. Yufuin is a hot-spring town in a basin in central Oita, facing Mount Yufu.

Hajime Notojima

一 能登島

A sushi auberge on Notojima, about eleven minutes by car from Wakura-Onsen Station and about 13 minutes from the Wakura interchange of the Nanao-Tatsuruhama bypass. It faces Nanao Bay and has a hot spring. Notojima has an aquarium and a glass museum and is linked to the mainland by two bridges. It holds one Michelin Key in the 2026 selection, serves sushi-centred meals and keeps its room count small.

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Beppu Showaen

別府温泉 べっぷ昭和園

A traditional Japanese ryokan in the Otobaru district of Beppu Onsen, founded in 1926, with eleven detached cottages on about 6,000 tsubo, each with its own hot-spring bath. It is about five minutes by car from Beppu Station and about 15 minutes from the Beppu interchange of the Higashi-Kyushu Expressway, with a transfer by reservation. Beppu is one of Japan’s great hot-spring towns, with eight onsen areas known as Beppu Hatto.

Fuji Kawaguchiko Onsen Konanso

富士河口湖温泉 湖南荘

A hot-spring inn at Funatsu on Lake Kawaguchi, close to Kawaguchiko Station on the Fujikyu line and about 4 km from the Kawaguchiko interchange of the Chuo Expressway. It has a large bath and an observation foot bath with views of Mount Fuji, and rooms face either the mountain or the lake. Meals are served in your room, and the lakeside path is a short walk away.

Yufuin Hanayoshi

由布院温泉 朝霧のみえる宿 ゆふいん花由

A hot-spring inn on high ground in the Kawakita district of Yufuin Onsen, about a minute by car from the Yufuin interchange and about seven minutes from JR Yufuin Station, with a free transfer by reservation. It faces Mount Yufu directly, and guests can use its alkaline water of pH 9.2. In the misty season you can look down on the fog-filled basin.

Hakone Kowakien Tenyu

箱根小涌園 天悠（藤田観光リゾート）

A hot-spring inn at Ninotaira in Hakone, with an open-air hot-spring bath in every room and an infinity-style hot spring looking down on the valley. It is right by the Tenyu bus stop, with a shuttle bus from Gora Station on the Hakone Tozan Railway. The Hakone Open-Air Museum is close, and there are several dining rooms.

Ryokan Sanga

黒川温泉 旅館 山河

A ryokan on the Tanohara River at the lower end of Kurokawa Onsen, about 50 minutes by bus from Aso Station. Kurokawa is known for its pass that lets you visit the public baths, and this inn is a little away from the centre. Guests can use the Kurokawa water, and there are open-air baths. A riverside road links it to the centre of town.

Hotel Grandbach Atami Crescendo

ホテルグランバッハ熱海クレッシェンド

A hotel at Izusan in Atami, renovated in August 2024, with rooms that have hot-spring baths and look down on Sagami Bay and the town of Atami. It is about 15 minutes by car from JR Atami Station. Izusan is the area around Izusan Shrine, on high ground a little away from central Atami. It keeps its room count small and serves seasonal food.

Sakura Rikyu

仙台 秋保温泉 迎賓館 櫻離宮

An inn of separate buildings on the Natori River at Akiu Onsen, about 15 minutes by car from the Sendai-minami interchange of the Tohoku Expressway and about 40 minutes from central Sendai, with a shuttle bus from the east exit of JR Sendai Station by reservation. The rooms combine Japanese and Western styles, some with open-air baths, and it faces the gorge.

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Sanyoso

伊豆長岡温泉 三養荘（プリンスホテルズ&リゾーツ）

A ryokan at Izu-Nagaoka Onsen run by Prince Hotels & Resorts, with some of its buildings registered as Tangible Cultural Properties. It is about 26 km from the Numazu or Nagaizumi-Numazu interchanges via the Izu-Jukan Expressway, with a transfer. Rooms have free-flowing hot-spring baths, and dinner is kaiseki. The grounds include a Japanese garden. Izu-Nagaoka is known for its links to Minamoto no Yoritomo, and Shuzenji is an easy drive.

Villa Montpetre

天からの贈り物 Villa Montpetre（ヴィラ モンペトル）

A villa-style inn at the foot of the Kirishima mountains, about five minutes by car from Kirishima Shrine and about 40 minutes from Kagoshima Airport. The rooms are separate buildings with hot-spring baths, and French cuisine is served. It is surrounded by forest within the national park.

Shuhokaku Kogetsu

富士河口湖温泉 秀峰閣 湖月

A hot-spring inn on the north shore of Lake Kawaguchi, about ten minutes by car from Kawaguchiko Station on the Fujikyu line. Every room and the open-air bath face Lake Kawaguchi and Mount Fuji directly. The north shore is known for views of Fuji reflected in the lake, and Oishi Park is close. It has a large bath and serves seasonal food.

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Kinugawa Kizuna

愛犬と楽しむ温泉旅館 鬼怒川 絆

A hot-spring ryokan at Kinugawa Onsen where you can stay with your dog, five minutes on foot from Kinugawa-Onsen Station on the Tobu line. The building and rooms can be used with your dog, and the rooms have hot-spring baths. Kinugawa is an onsen town of inns along a gorge, and Nikko Toshogu is reachable by car, as are the Kinugawa river cruise and Tobu World Square.

D+KIRISHIMA

愛犬と泊まれる宿 D＋KIRISHIMA

A hot-spring inn in the Kirishima onsen area where you can stay with your dog, one minute on foot from the Shioyu Onsen bus stop (about 30 minutes by bus from Kagoshima Airport) and about 15 minutes by car from Kirishima Shrine. The rooms have open-air baths fed directly from the source, and there is a dog run. It sits at the foot of the Kirishima mountains and keeps its room count small.

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Tobira Onsen Myojinkan

扉温泉 明神館

A ryokan at Tobira Onsen in the mountains of Matsumoto, about 40 minutes by car from the Matsumoto interchange, with a free shuttle bus from Matsumoto Station. A member of Relais & Châteaux, it is known for its standing bath beside the mountain stream. It is close to the trailheads for the Utsukushigahara plateau and holds one Michelin Key in the 2026 selection. There are several baths, and meals use local ingredients.

Gosho Bessho

有馬山叢 御所別墅（ごしょべっしょ）

A hot-spring inn deep in Arima, surrounded by the nature of the Arima area, with ten rooms on about 1,400 tsubo. There is a transfer from Arima-Onsen Station on the Kobe Electric Railway, about 30 minutes by rail from Shin-Kobe Station. The rooms are suites, and guests can use the Arima water. Arima is one of Japan’s three oldest hot springs.

Furuya Ryokan

熱海温泉 古屋旅館

A hot-spring ryokan in Higashi-Kaigan-cho, Atami, with 220 years of history. It is about five minutes by taxi or 13 minutes on foot from JR Atami Station, and three minutes on foot from Atami Sun Beach. It draws free-flowing hot-spring water, serves meals in your room, and added rooms with open-air baths in 2026. There are several baths in the house.

THE HIRAMATSU Atami

THE HIRAMATSU 熱海

A hotel built around its food, on the high ground in Atami. Every room has a bath fed by the hot spring, and the view is over Sagami Bay. The brand began as a restaurant business, and dinner sits at the centre of the stay.

Bettei Fujiya

いろりの湯宿 別邸 藤屋

A hot-spring inn at Shioya in Hatsukaichi, Hiroshima, five minutes on foot from JR Onoura Station (the inn suggests using its transfer, as the way is uphill). It has free-flowing hot-spring water and a dining room with sunken hearths, and dogs are welcome. Miyajima is reachable by ferry. It keeps its room count small, in an area facing the Seto Inland Sea.

Kagetsu Bettei The One

かげつ別邸～The ONE～

A hot-spring inn at Isawa Onsen where you can stay with your dog, about five minutes by car or 20 minutes on foot from JR Isawa-Onsen Station and about ten minutes from the Ichinomiya-Misaka interchange of the Chuo Expressway. The building and rooms can be used with your dog. Isawa is in the Kofu basin, among vineyards and wineries, and Kofu and the Katsunuma wineries are an easy drive.

Wankoan

下湯原温泉 わんこと泊まれる宿 わんこあん

A hot-spring inn at Shimo-Yubara in Okayama’s Yubara Onsen where you can stay with your dog. All five rooms have an open-air bath and a foot bath. It is about 30 minutes by taxi from Chugoku-Katsuyama Station on the JR Kishin line and about five minutes from the Yubara interchange. Yubara is known for Sunayu, a riverside open-air bath. The building and rooms can be used with your dog.

Centurion Hakone Bettei

全室露天風呂付客室 仙石原温泉 センチュリオン箱根別邸

A 13-room hot-spring inn at Sengokuhara in Hakone, with an open-air bath in every room. It is about 25 minutes by car from Hakone-Yumoto Station and about 25 minutes from the Gotemba interchange of the Tomei Expressway. Sengokuhara is a high plateau of pampas grass and museums, and Owakudani and the Pola Museum are easy to reach by car.

Kinsuikan

宮島潮湯温泉 錦水館

A ryokan on Miyajima, the island of Itsukushima Shrine, beside the Omotesando shopping street. It is about ten minutes by ferry from Miyajimaguchi Station and about five minutes on foot from the Miyajima pier. It has rooms with semi-open-air baths and a rooftop terrace, and added suites with hot-spring baths in 2025. Guests can use the Miyajima Shioyu hot spring.

Gora Tsuki no Izumi

強羅 月の泉

A nine-room inn at Gora in Hakone, each room with its own open-air hot-spring bath. It is reached by taxi from Gora Station, or about five minutes on foot from Naka-Gora Station on the cable car. Gora is halfway up the Hakone mountains, and the railway and cable car reach the surrounding sights. Gora Park and the Hakone Open-Air Museum are an easy drive.

Gora Kansuiro

強羅温泉 自家源泉掛け流しの宿 強羅環翠楼

A 14-room inn of Japanese-style rooms in Gora, Hakone, three minutes on foot from Gora Station on the Hakone Tozan Railway. It draws free-flowing water from its own hot spring and serves kaiseki. The Hakone Open-Air Museum, Gora Park and Owakudani are easy to reach, and it has a large bath.

Ubud no Mori Izukogen

愛犬と微笑む温泉リゾート ウブドの森 伊豆高原

A hot-spring resort at Futo in Izu Kogen where you can stay with your dogs, about ten minutes by car from Izukogen Station and about 105 minutes via Route 135 from the Odawara interchange of the Odawara-Atsugi Road. It accepts large dogs and more than one dog. The Jogasaki coast and Mount Omuro are close. It has a dog run, and the rooms and dining room can be used with your dog.

Tenchi no Yado Okunohosomichi

有馬温泉 天地の宿 奥の細道

A hot-spring inn in the Oyashiki district of Arima Onsen, with a free transfer from Arima-Onsen Station and the bus stop, and about five minutes on foot from the Arima Onsen ropeway station. Dishes are finished in front of you, and guests can use the Arima water. It is a little away from the centre of the onsen streets.

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Hashinoya Bekkan Ransui

有馬温泉 橋乃家別館 嵐翠

A small Japanese inn on high ground at Arima Onsen, close to the onsen streets. The usual route is from Shin-Kobe Station by Kobe Electric Railway to Arima-Onsen Station. It serves Japanese kaiseki and guests can use the Arima water. It keeps its room count small and stays quiet. Arima is known for its two waters, Kinsen and Ginsen.

Tsutaya Toki no Yado Fusato

木曽御岳温泉 つたや季の宿 風里

A hot-spring inn on the Kaida highlands in Kiso, at about 1,200 metres, about 30 minutes by bus from Kiso-Fukushima Station, on Route 361. The area looks out toward Mount Ontake, and the Kiso horse village is close. It has a hot spring and stays cool even in summer. It keeps its room count small and serves food made with Shinshu ingredients.

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Hatago Saikura

源泉掛け流し露天風呂付全室離れの宿 旅籠 彩くら

An inn of separate cottages in Kokonoe, Oita, about five minutes by car from Bungo-Nakamura Station on the JR Kyudai line. Every room is a separate cottage with a free-flowing open-air hot-spring bath. Kokonoe is an area of the Kuju mountains and the Handa highlands, and the Kokonoe ‘Yume’ Suspension Bridge is an easy drive. It keeps its room count small and serves local food.

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Washintei Hougetsu

箱根芦ノ湖温泉 和心亭 豊月

An inn on the shore of Lake Ashi, just east of Hakone Shrine, renovated in July 2024. It is reached by bus or taxi from Hakone-Yumoto Station, with a transfer from the Moto-Hakone and Moto-Hakone-ko bus stops. It looks out on the lake, has a hot spring and serves kaiseki. Hakone Shrine is within walking distance.

Kinugawa Keisui

鬼怒川渓翠

A resort at Kinugawa Onsen, opened in December 2022, with an open-air hot-spring bath and balcony in every room. It is about three minutes on foot from Tobu World Square Station and about ten minutes by car from Kinugawa-Onsen Station (with a transfer). The Kinugawa gorge spreads out in front. It holds one Michelin Key in the 2026 selection, and Nikko and Kawaji Onsen are easy to reach by car.

THE HIRAMATSU Sengokuhara

THE HIRAMATSU 仙石原

A hotel built around its food, in the woods at Sengokuhara in Hakone. The hot spring runs straight from the source, and the rooms face the forest. Both the water and the landscape differ from Gora, on the other side of Hakone.

Hanafubuki

伊豆高原 城ケ崎温泉 花吹雪

A hot-spring ryokan at Yawatano in Izu Kogen, ten minutes on foot from Izukogen Station on the Izu Kyuko line. Its rooms, private baths and dining rooms are scattered through a forest. It is about 120 minutes from the Atsugi interchange of the Tomei via the Odawara-Atsugi Road. The Jogasaki coast is close, and the area’s museums and walking paths are within reach on foot.

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Ibusuki Shusuien

指宿温泉 いぶすき秀水園

A Japanese-style ryokan in the Yunohama district of Ibusuki Onsen, with a transfer from JR Ibusuki Station and about 50 minutes by car from the Taniyama interchange of the Kyushu Expressway. It serves kaiseki made with Satsuma ingredients, and guests can use the hot spring. Ibusuki is known for its sand baths and is a base for Mount Kaimon and Lake Ikeda.

1 videos

Shikinosai Hatago

有馬温泉 四季の彩 旅篭 客前料理と全室金泉露天付の湯籠り宿

An inn of six rooms at Arima Onsen, each with an open-air bath of Kinsen water, renovated in March 2023. It is about nine minutes on foot from Arima-Onsen Station on the Kobe Electric Railway and about ten minutes by car from the Nishinomiya-kita interchange of the Chugoku Expressway. Meals are finished in front of you, and the onsen streets are within walking distance.

Yumedono

河口湖温泉寺 露天風呂の宿 夢殿

An inn of separate buildings at Kawaguchiko Onsen, every room with an open-air bath, about five minutes by car from Kawaguchiko Station on the Fujikyu line. It is on the south shore of Lake Kawaguchi, an area looking across the lake to Mount Fuji. The Fuji Five Lakes and Fuji-Q Highland are easy to reach by car, as are the lake cruise and ropeway.

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Nihon no Ashitaba

由布院温泉 おやど 二本の葦束

An inn of separate cottages in the Kawakita district of Yufuin Onsen, with 13 cottages on about 4,500 square metres, about seven minutes by car from JR Yufuin Station. All the baths, including the open-air ones, are used privately. The grounds are wooded, with the cottages spaced well apart.

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Yufuin Onsen Ikkoten

由布院温泉 湯富里の宿 一壷天

A hot-spring inn in the Kawakami district of Yufuin, about seven minutes by car from the Yufuin interchange and about five minutes from JR Yufuin Station. Its interiors combine antiques with contemporary furniture. Lake Kinrin and Yunotsubo Kaido are a short drive away, and guests can use the hot spring. It keeps its room count small and stays quiet inside.

Machinoodoriba

町家ホテル 町の踊場

A hotel in a machiya townhouse at Hyotan-machi in Kanazawa, about twelve minutes on foot from JR Kanazawa Station, with the Kazuemachi teahouse district and Omicho Market within walking distance. The rooms face a garden and have private hot-spring baths. It is in central Kanazawa but set back from the street in a quiet spot.

Takumi no Yado Kasho

芦ノ湖温泉 匠の宿 佳松

A seven-room inn on the shore of Lake Ashi, near the site of the Hakone checkpoint. It is a sukiya-style building, and each room has its own open-air bath. It is reached by bus or taxi from Hakone-Yumoto Station. The lake cruises, Hakone Shrine and the cedar avenue of the old highway are close, and the lakeside path is a short walk away.

Bettei Yamabuki

遠刈田温泉 別邸 山風木

An inn at Togatta Onsen in Zao, about 40 minutes by bus from Shiroishi-Zao Station on the Tohoku shinkansen. It has a hot spring and sits at the foot of the Zao mountains. The Okama crater lake and kokeshi doll workshops are close, and in winter it is a base for the ski areas. It keeps its room count small and stays quiet.

UMITO ATAMI HONTEI

UMITO ATAMI HONTEI（旧：UMITO VOYAGE ATAMI）

An inn on the coast at Kami-Taga in Atami, every room with its own ocean-view hot-spring bath. It is about 13 minutes by taxi from Atami Station, or three minutes on foot from the Akao Forest stop on the Tokai bus to Ajiro. It stands on a slope facing Sagami Bay, away from the town centre, keeps its room count small and looks out on the bay and Hatsushima. Meals use Izu ingredients.

Hotel New Sagamiya

伊豆山温泉 ホテルニューさがみや

A hot-spring inn at Izusan in Atami, about five minutes by car from JR Atami Station. Every room faces Sagami Bay, and there are three private open-air baths free to use. Izusan, home to Izusan Shrine, is on high ground a little away from central Atami. Meals use produce from the mountains and the sea.

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Gora Hanaogi

強羅温泉 強羅花扇

A hot-spring inn at Gora in Hakone, where every room has an open-air bath fed from its own source, known for a building made with Hida timber. There is a free transfer from Gora or Sounzan stations. Gora is halfway up the Hakone mountains, close to the Hakone Open-Air Museum and Gora Park. Dinner is Kyoto-style kaiseki, and there is a large communal bath. The Hakone Tozan Railway runs from Gora down to Hakone-Yumoto.

Yumesenkei Bettei Amahara

洲本温泉 夢泉景別荘 天原 ＜淡路島＞

A villa-style inn on the coast at Sumoto Onsen on Awaji Island, every room with its own open-air bath, facing Osaka Bay. It is about 15 minutes by car from the Sumoto interchange; highway buses reach Sumoto Bus Center in about 120 minutes from Osaka and about 80 from Sannomiya. Its name comes from Takamagahara in the Kojiki.

7 videos

New Tomiyoshi

熱海温泉 味と湯の宿 ニューとみよし

A hot-spring inn facing Nagahama beach at Shimotaga in Atami, about 7 km from Atami towards Ito on Route 135. It has several private open-air baths and saunas, free to use, and faces Sagami Bay. Rooms look out over the bay, and meals feature seafood such as spiny lobster. Shimotaga is a seaside village between Atami and Ito, easy to get around by car.

3 videos

Sanso Murata

由布院温泉 山荘 無量塔

A hot-spring inn in the Kawakami district of Yufuin Onsen, about ten minutes by car from JR Yufuin Station and about 15 minutes from the Yufuin interchange of the Oita Expressway. It stands away from the centre of Yufuin, Lake Kinrin and Yunotsubo Kaido, on the lower slopes of Mount Yufu. Guests can use the hot spring.

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Ryotei Tanokura

由布院温泉 旅亭 田乃倉

A Japanese-style ryokan in the Kawakami district of Yufuin Onsen, about two minutes on foot from Lake Kinrin and about five minutes by taxi from JR Yufuin Station. Meals are served in your room and feature Oita wagyu, and guests can use the Yufuin water. The walking paths around Lake Kinrin are close.

3 videos

Takechiyo Kirishima Bettei

霧島温泉 料亭旅館 竹千代 霧島別邸

A ryotei ryokan on the approach to Kirishima Shrine, about 15 minutes by car from JR Kirishima-Jingu Station or the Maruo bus stop and about 50 minutes from Kagoshima Airport, with a transfer from the station or bus stop. Guests can use the Kirishima hot spring, and dinner is kaiseki. Kirishima Shrine is within walking distance.

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Hozantei

黒川温泉 源流の宿 帆山亭＜離れ宿＞

An inn of separate buildings at the very top of Kurokawa Onsen, along the source of the Chikugo River, with rooms spread over about 5,000 tsubo. It is about 50 minutes by car from the Hita interchange of the Oita Expressway, with a transfer from the Kurokawa Onsen bus stop by reservation. Guests can use the Kurokawa water, and dinner is kaiseki.

3 videos