Around White World Oze Iwakura × Accommodation With Stamp RallyHighly rated for dining at Hotel·Ryokan

It was located in a wonderfully nature-rich setting. The meals were also very delicious. The private open-air bath in the detached annex was a truly special, escape-from-the-everyday experience. I’d love to visit again.

If you love Onsen, this place is truly heaven—there are 18 private baths. This was my third stay, and I still haven’t managed to try them all. The detached cottage “Aoi” has its own open-air bath, which is absolutely wonderful. I always end up completely satisfied just using the bath in the Room. The spring quality is a simple Onsen (slightly alkaline, hypotonic, high-temperature) with a pH of 8.3. It feels gentle on the skin and is easy to enjoy in a different way from more distinctive springs like sulfur Onsen. It’s comfortable for longer soaks, and being able to enjoy it many times during your stay is part of the appeal. Many of the open-air baths have a rustic, DIY-like feel. Numerous private baths are scattered across the vast grounds, and I can only imagine how much work it must be to maintain and manage so many. Because this Accommodation is surrounded by nature, things like insects and fallen leaves are somewhat unavoidable. In July there were quite a few insects, and when I visited last September I also had trouble with biting gnats. Even so, this Accommodation has more than enough charm to make up for it. The source spring has an abundant flow rate, and the source temperature is very high at 76.1°C. To bring it down to a comfortable temperature, adding water may sometimes be necessary. As an Onsen lover, I’d ideally like to enjoy pure free-flowing water without dilution—but with such a high-temperature source spring, I understand that temperature control can be challenging. Many of the staff are from overseas, but everyone speaks Japanese well and I’ve never felt inconvenienced. They are always polite and attentive. And despite being such a secluded hot-spring retreat, it’s great that the meals are genuinely delicious as well. This time we ordered sukiyaki as an extra dish; it was excellent and very satisfying. In winter this area apparently gets extremely heavy snowfall. Next time I’d love to visit in winter and enjoy an outdoor bath while admiring snowy scenery.