Yamanaka Onsen Yubatake no Yado Hanatsubaki

Located a little beyond Yamanaka Onsen’s Yuge Kaido, this Accommodation sits across from Kayano Osugi, a nationally designated Natural Monument. Camellias were depicted throughout the Accommodation—do camellias bloom here in winter? Bright red camellias against white snow would be beautiful. To reach the Accommodation’s signature Yunobata, you go down a stone staircase, where fresh greenery, a clear stream, and birdsong soothe you and let you fully enjoy nature. From the Room, we also enjoyed the sunrise peeking over the mountains. The meals were wonderful in both presentation and taste; cold dishes were served cold and hot dishes hot, showing thoughtful attention to detail. Surrounded by nature and delicious food, we were able to relax and spend unhurried time. Thank you very much.

We stayed at this Accommodation looking forward to enjoying the Yubatake baths!The exterior, lobby, and other areas do show their age, but there were complimentary drinks in the lobby, and our Room was spacious and well cleaned, so we had a very comfortable stay.(However, the air conditioning was centralized for the whole building. A fan was provided, but in this extreme heat it still felt a bit warm.)This time we traveled without meals to fully enjoy the Onsen, and the Yubatake baths were just as great as we’d hoped!The box-shaped baths are set at different temperatures. One of them is a cold spring bath in a standing-bath style—at 153 cm tall, I could hold onto the log support and fit perfectly.Since it was midsummer, soaking in the warm water and then cooling off in the cold spring while zoning out… an amazing spiral of relaxation.That said, you do get summer “bees and horseflies.” It can’t really be helped—it’s part of having an open-air bath.The indoor bath was also relaxing, with a great view through large glass windows.Because we didn’t have meals included (and perhaps even regardless), the staff’s service felt on the simple side—more like “Please relax at your leisure.”Personally, I enjoyed that hands-off approach and had an open, carefree stay.In any case, I can only imagine how incredible that Yubatake would be with snow falling—I’d love to come back again in winter someday!!