Izu-Nagaoka Onsen Yumeguri no Yado Yoshiharu

A 1952 garden inn built for 'bath-hopping': five free private open-air baths you simply walk into when they're free, two large baths and ten rooms with their own outdoor tub — but the spring water is heated and recirculated, the stairs make it a maze, and the facilities are starting to show their age

Yoshiharu has been running in Izu-Nagaoka since 1952, and its whole idea is in the name, yumeguri — a round of baths. Across a covered garden walkway sit five private open-air baths: a rock pool for seven or eight with a stone pot tub, an all-hinoki bath, a granite bath, a jacuzzi and a herb-scented tub. They cost nothing and need no booking; if the door isn't locked, it's yours, from 15:00 to 1:00 and again from 5:00 to 9:30. Two large baths with outdoor tubs (one with a sauna), a garden foot bath and ten of the 24 rooms with their own outdoor bath complete the circuit. The water is Izu-Nagaoka's alkaline simple spring, but Jalan lists it as diluted, heated and recirculated, and several guests found it lukewarm. Japanese guests rate it 4.7 across 3,442 reviews on Jalan (baths, dinner and service 4.8) and 4.58 across 1,719 on Rakuten Travel. Travelogues from 2022 to 2026 and this autumn's reviews praise the private baths, the attentive room attendants and the monthly half-kaiseki with abalone grilled alive, served in the Tsuki-no-Ike dining room over a lit koi pond. The recurring complaints: a confusing layout of stairs and corridors that is hard on bad knees, mosquitoes in summer, dim rooms, an inconsistent smoking policy, and an August 2026 guest who felt the facilities were due for a refresh. Two-meal stays run roughly ¥17,000–30,000+ per person.