Ryokan in Kaike Onsen

Kaike Onsen is the seaside spa town of Yonago, Tottori, on Miho Bay, and the largest onsen town in the San'in region: about 40 inns line a kilometre of white-sand, pine-lined shore, with a swimming beach right in front. In 1900 a fisher noticed hot water rising in the sea off the beach, and the town was developed from 1921. The water is a sodium-calcium chloride spring nicknamed the "salt spring" (shio no yu) because it rises from beneath the sea, and it tastes salty. Buses from JR Yonago Station take about 19 minutes; taxis take about 15–20 minutes from the station and about 25 minutes from Yonago Kitaro Airport.

Both reviewed inns stand on the seafront facing the Sea of Japan and draw this salt spring, but they suit different stays. Kaike Onsen Kikunoya (classic), a 31-room, seven-floor house that opened in 1964 as an annex of the Kikusui Ryokan and was rebuilt in 1997, suits anyone who puts service, seafood and the spring water itself first: it rates 4.43 across 1,451 reviews on one major site and 4.6 across 1,494 on another, guests praise salt-grilled nodoguro, Tottori wagyu shabu-shabu, crab, a prize-winning breakfast and warm staff, the president sings folk songs in the lobby on weekend nights (usually 21:00, free), and the shared baths are free-flowing, with water added to cool them. Those baths are also its weak spot: there are no private baths, the shared ones have only six or seven showers and queues before dinner, the outdoor tub fits about two, the men's outdoor bath can be seen from the beach path, and the rooms are ageing; two-meal plans run about ¥23,000–27,000 per person, over ¥30,000 with in-room dining or abalone. Kaike Hakusen (classic), called Yukibou Hakusen until 6 November 2026, opened in 1955 as an eight-room kappō inn and was rebuilt in 1999; it suits couples who want to bathe privately with a sea view. Every room except four town-side singles faces the sea with a window-side jacuzzi, 16 add a balcony open-air bath, the whole building, lifts included, is laid with tatami, and a free draft beer is poured on arrival; it rates 4.3 across 3,609 reviews and 4.23 across 1,966 on two major sites, and two-meal plans usually run about ¥18,000–25,000 per person. Unlike Kikunoya, its room baths are heated tap water rather than onsen, and the shared spring is diluted and heated, with the outdoor rock baths mixing free-flowing and recirculated water in a separate building away from the indoor baths. There are no in-room meals, check-in and dinner times are handled by smartphone, reviews since Relo Vacations took over in October 2024 are more mixed, and until about 11 November 2026 exterior painting closes the room open-air baths and makes the outdoor bath building men-only.