Ryokan in Okukinu Onsen

Okukinu Onsen lies at about 1,300 m in Nikko National Park (Kawamata, Nikko, Tochigi), past the end of the public road: cars stop at the Meotobuchi car park, and from there you ride your inn's free shuttle up an unpaved forest road (about 25 minutes to Kaniyu, 30 to Hatcho no Yu) or walk in about 1.5–2 hours. The city bus from Kinugawa-Onsen station takes roughly 90–100 minutes and the shuttles run on fixed timetables (Hatcho no Yu asks you to book ahead), so plan the day around them; in winter you need snow chains to drive to Meotobuchi, and the Sannō forest road closes from early December to late April. Both reviewed inns are mountain inns built around the water, which flows free and is not reheated, and neither takes walk-in day bathers any more. Hatcho no Yu opened in 1929, had no electricity until 1988 and still lights oil lamps at night; its simple hot spring fills three mixed open-air baths beside a waterfall. Kaniyu, the largest of Okukinu's four inns with 48 rooms, owns five springs, four of them milky sulphur, and sets all five side by side in the Roman-no-yu tasting tubs.

Hatcho no Yu (historic hut) suits anyone who wants the old mountain-hut feel with gentler mixed-bath rules: oil lamps at night, three waterfall-side mixed baths where towel wrapping is allowed and bath wear is sold, a fourth open-air bath that alternates between women and men, and a women-only hour in every open-air bath from 21:00 to 22:00; its English page says it is tattoo friendly, and the log cabins have their own toilets, with some rooms adding a private open-air bath for anyone who would rather skip the mixed baths. Japanese guests rate it 4.6 across 354 reviews on Jalan. Expect shared toilets in the main building, no air conditioning, thin cabin walls, a game-heavy dinner and open-air baths closed for cleaning 9:00–14:00; two-meal stays ran about ¥13,500–18,000 per person in the main building (2023–2024) and ¥21,000–29,000 in the cabins (2025–2026). Kaniyu (five springs) suits bath lovers on a budget who want the most water for the money: five springs whose colour and temperature change from day to day, a 12:30 check-in, bathing after check-out until your shuttle and free 50-minute private open-air baths; it rates 4.1 across 712 Jalan reviews, with the baths at 4.5, and two-meal stays mostly cost about ¥11,000–19,000 per person (2025–2026). Its mixed baths are stricter, with a single-colour bath towel only and no bath wear or swimsuits, though one large open-air bath is women only. Recent reviews flag plain rooms, mould and slippery algae, tubs that swing from lukewarm to scalding, no air conditioning and simple food, and it takes cash only, with no ATM within walking distance.