Ikaho Onsen Nyoshin-no-sato Hibikino

A large, well-run Ikaho inn in a 15,000-tsubo garden with both of the town's springs — a free-flowing 'golden' outdoor bath and a recirculated 'silver' indoor one — plus sauna and in-room-bath rooms; the outdoor tub is small and the building is ageing

Hibikino is a 64-room inn set in about 15,000 tsubo of gardens and wildflower paths at the foot of Mt Haruna, a kilometre below Ikaho's stone steps. Its draw is having both of Ikaho's springs: the historic iron-rich Kogane-no-yu ('golden water'), which the inn runs free-flowing into a granite outdoor bath, and the newer, clear Shirogane-no-yu ('silver water'), filtered and recirculated in the indoor bath beside a sauna with hourly löyly. The large baths were fully renovated in March 2023, a weekend-only bath called Tamayura was added, and in February 2026 a bookable private bath, The Private Spa. Three detached wings have their own open-air baths, and two compact rooms have semi-open-air tubs. Japanese guests rate it 4.5 across 1,097 reviews on one major site (cleanliness 4.7, baths 4.6) and 4.22 across 2,596 on another, where service scores 4.34 but dinner only 3.96. Recent reviewers praise warm, flexible staff, spotless renovated baths, plated (not buffet) meals using Gunma beef and farm vegetables, and the late-night ramen. The catches, from 2022 to 2026: the golden outdoor tub is small (full with about five people) and often lukewarm, the large bath gets crowded with too few washing stations, and the building and futons show their age — 2026 reviews mention aircon noise, a smelly pillow, a clogged toilet, slow dinner pacing and hair on the changing-room floor. A 2022 travelogue questioned the 'high-class' label. Two-meal stays in a standard room run about ¥24,000–26,000 per person; the detached rooms cost more.