Sumiyoshiya

Shopping in Japan: deliver to your ryokan, collect at a konbini, send bags ahead

Japan SIM, eSIM or pocket Wi-Fi? What to buy before you fly and where to pick it up

Sources

The real blog posts and stay reports this article draws on

Featured in our guides

Side-by-side comparisons that include this ryokan.

Caught a cold or feeling sick in Japan? Where to buy medicine and how to find a doctor

Sore throat, fever or a cold on your Japan trip? Why you need a drugstore rather than a konbini, how Japan's first-, second- and third-class over-the-counter medicines and the pharmacist counter work, the limits on bringing your own medicine, how to find a clinic that speaks your language, the Japan Visitor Hotline, travel insurance you can buy after arrival, and what to ask your ryokan.

Freezing at a mountain onsen ryokan in Japan? How to stay warm tonight

Cold room, icy corridor or a snowy walk to the outdoor bath? What to ask the front desk for, which inns in our directory run cold and which lend coats, boots or blankets, buying kairo heat packs and warm innerwear at a konbini today, avoiding low-temperature burns, the official advice on bathing in cold weather, ordering warm gear to your ryokan, and winter tyres, chains and shuttles.

Free-flowing or recirculated? How to tell real onsen water before you book

'Hot spring' on a booking page can mean anything from water straight from the source to recirculated, chlorinated tap water in your room. What the Japanese terms mean, and which ryokan in our directory pass the test.

Snow-country ryokan: where to soak in winter

Nine ryokan in Japan's snow country where Japanese stay reports describe bathing from December to March, one that closes for winter, and the winter catches: roads closed to cars, shuttle-only access, chains, cold corridors and baths shut for snow.

Photo credits

Shinseido drugstore and pharmacy, Muromi (Sawara Ward, Fukuoka) · Muyo / CC BY-SA 4.0
Notoya Ryokan, Ginzan Onsen (Obanazawa, Yamagata) · さかおり / CC BY-SA 4.0
Mukaitaki in the snow, Higashiyama Onsen, Aizu-Wakamatsu · Fumihiko Ueno / CC BY 3.0
Lamp no Yado Aoni Onsen · Raita Futo / CC BY 2.0

More Consensus Reports

Nozawa OnsenClassic

Nozawa Onsen, Nagano — right beside the Kamitera-yu public bath, near Kumanotearai-yu and Shin-yu, about four minutes' walk from the Ōyu bathhouse and the Chūō Terminal bus stop

4.4/5

9 sources

Nozawa Onsen Kawaichiya Ryokan

野沢温泉河一屋旅館

A renovated Nozawa inn with two different springs under one roof, including the prized Shin-yu, piped free-flowing into its outdoor bath and newer in-room baths, plus a two-wagyu steak dinner and near-perfect service scores. The catches: thin walls, a maze of stairs and corridors, and very hot water

Nozawa OnsenClassic

Nozawa Onsen, Nagano — right next to the Ōyu public bathhouse in the middle of the village, a 3-minute walk from the Nozawa Onsen bus terminal and about 5 minutes from the Yu-road moving walkway to the ski slopes

4.4/5

11 sources

Ryokan Sakaya

野沢温泉旅館さかや

The big inn beside Nozawa's Ōyu bathhouse, with its own sulphur spring rising in the garden and running unwatered through a shrine-carpenter bathhouse of hot, warm and lie-down tubs. The catches: plain cheaper rooms, weak summer air-conditioning and strict winter booking rules

Private Onsen Rooms

KotohiraClassic

Kotohira, Kagawa — a five-minute walk from JR Kotohira Station and from the start of the Konpira-san approach (free station pick-up by reservation)

3.9/5

9 sources

Kotohira Onsen Kotosankaku

ことひら温泉琴参閣

Kotohira's 223-room onsen giant, five minutes from the Konpira steps: big shared baths, a 50-dish breakfast and corridors full of curios — but the water is recirculated, cheaper rooms feel dated, and it can be crowded and noisy

KotohiraClassic

Kotohira, Kagawa — in the town below Konpira-san, five minutes' walk from JR Kotohira Station (free pick-up on request) and walkable to the shrine's approach

4.1/5

9 sources

Kotohira Hananoyu Koubaitei

湯元こんぴら温泉華の湯紅梅亭

A big, family-friendly onsen hotel below Konpira-san with 15 baths — rose-petal tubs, a garden bathhouse, a summer pool — and a decorated chef's stone-grill kaiseki; the water is heated and recirculated, and 2026 reviews flag upkeep slips

KotohiraValue

Kotohira, Kagawa — on the busy shopping street at the foot of the Konpira-san approach, about 7 minutes' walk from JR Kotohira Station and 5 from Kotoden Kotohira

3.0/5

10 sources

Konpira Onsen Yumoto Yachiyo

こんぴら温泉湯元八千代

Kotohira's original onsen inn, founded in 1725 and steps from the Konpira approach: cheap, generous kaiseki and a rooftop bath with views — but an ageing building, repeated cleanliness complaints and a rooftop bath that women can use only in the evening

Kurokawa OnsenClassic

Kurokawa Onsen, Minamioguni, Kumamoto — a wooden inn on the river with an annex across the lane, a short walk from the Kurokawa Onsen bus stop

4.5/5

9 sources

Fumoto Ryokan

ふもと旅館

Eleven free private baths you simply walk into, every tub 100% free-flowing, and the family who invented Kurokawa's bath-hopping pass — great water and big country dinners, with a lot of stairs

Private Onsen Rooms