Shima Yamaguchikan
四万やまぐち館
Area photo — not the ryokan itself · The Shima River at Shima Onsen, Gunma · Kentaro Ohno / CC BY 2.0
A big, Shōwa-retro riverside inn whose two long open-air baths sit right on the clear Shima river — come for the water and the okami's nightly picture-story show, not for the food or for quiet
Yamaguchikan claims more than 350 years of history but is today a large, eight-storey, 69-room inn beside the Shima river, kept deliberately Shōwa-retro inside. Everything good about it starts with the baths: two riverside open-air baths that swap between men and women — the Odaimoku bath, about 30 m long beside a boulder carved with a Buddhist invocation, and the Shimagawa-no-yu with three tubs — plus the hinoki Yakushi-no-yu, all fed by a blend of six sources of Shima's sodium-calcium chloride-sulphate water, free-flowing. Japanese guests rate the baths 4.8 on Jalan (overall 4.3 across 2,282 reviews) and 4.71 on Ikyu (overall 4.23 across 119). Bloggers from 2023 to February 2026 describe soft, easy water, lukewarm winter open-air baths you can stay in for ages and all-night bathing; the okami's kamishibai picture-story show, running for 33 years by one 2026 account, is the other thing people remember. The weaknesses are just as consistent: food scores lower (dinner 4.1 on Jalan, meals 3.92 on Ikyu), with 2026 complaints about cold breakfast rice, thin sashimi and dinners too large to finish; it is an old building with crowded check-ins (one guest waited about 40 minutes in October 2026); and the best bath switches at 19:00, which several guests found too early. Standard two-meal plans reviewed in 2026 cost about ¥15,000–27,000 per person; the five rooms with their own free-flowing onsen bath cost more but win the warmest reviews.
Room Selection Guide
What the guests who stayed here actually recommendRecommended
Special rooms with a free-flowing onsen bath — river-side Mebuki / Soyokaze (7F, semi-open-air hinoki bath), mountain-side Kusabue (7F, open-air and indoor bath) and the 8F view-bath twins Kunpū / Kinmokusei (renovated May 2023)
The rooms reviewers rave about. The 7F river-side rooms are 105.5㎡ (15-tatami room plus twin beds), Kusabue is 70.8㎡, and the top-floor twins have a terrace and open-air bath. Guests in these rooms eat breakfast and dinner in the semi-private 'Tani-no-chaya' dining room. A March 2025 4travel blogger in a mountain-side room with an open-air bath enjoyed it in falling snow and called it great value at a little over ¥20,000; Ikyu reviewers in 2026 who brought elderly parents chose the river-side semi-open-air room for its few steps, bathrobes and quiet private meals, and a September 2026 Jalan couple paying over ¥30,000 per person called it the best inn of all their trips.
River-side Japanese rooms — 10-tatami (35.2㎡, with window sitting area or sunken kotatsu) or the 12-tatami corner rooms (52.7㎡)
The standard choice: all Japanese rooms are 10 tatami or larger on the river side, with an ordinary (non-onsen) bath and toilet. A September 2026 Jalan reviewer in a corner room praised the clean room and 'superb' view; the 12-tatami corners have big windows over the river and suit families.
Request To Avoid
Western rooms (double 17.9㎡ / twin 18.8㎡) and windows that don't open
The cheap Western rooms are all on the mountain side with no view; a June 2023 blogger paid ¥8,800 room-only for a 15㎡ double with a 'cramped unit bath' and wondered if it had been a tour-leader's room. Nifty Onsen's 2023 reviewer notes that some rooms have no river view. A September 2025 blogger regretted that the room couldn't let in the natural breeze. The building is old: a February 2026 Ikyu reviewer docked a star for worn spots.
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Dining Deep Dive
Breakfast Consensus
3.9/5A traditional Japanese breakfast with local Gunma produce and a small medicinal-herb hotpot that a February 2026 blogger liked for arriving hot; others mention a foil-wrapped horse mackerel you grill yourself, which one guest found hard to cook through, and in September 2026 a Jalan reviewer scored breakfast 1/5 for cold, dry rice
If you want the okami's kamishibai, book a later dinner or eat quickly: the official site says 20:15, but 2026 guests describe it starting at 19:00, and one family with an 18:00 dinner struggled to make it. It doesn't run when the okami is away. Women get the big Odaimoku bath only until 19:00, so go before dinner.
Dinner Insights
4.0/5A Gunma-sourced kaiseki (Jōshū beef, Jōshū mochi pork, highland vegetables), served in Dining Shunrei or Hachinosuke-jaya on standard plans, in the semi-private Tani-no-chaya on special-room plans, and in private rooms on some plans. Nifty Onsen's 2023 reviewer singled out Jōshū beef sukiyaki; a March 2025 blogger was amazed that roast beef and udon kept coming and named the warabi-mochi dessert the best dish; a December 2025 blogger enjoyed a sake pairing set and the local 'okkiri' udon. Extras include char grilled with salt (¥1,430), horse sashimi (¥1,980), Jōshū beef on a hot plate (¥4,180) and a three-sake tasting set (¥1,320). Criticism in 2026: portions so large many guests left food, sashimi called 'shabby', a seafood plan that disappointed and a repeat guest who found everything but the baths 'just average'.
Onsen & Wellness Realities
Sodium-calcium chloride-sulphate spring, a blend of six sources (per Nifty Onsen's 2023 stay report), clear and almost tasteless, with a drinking fountain by the Yakushi bath. The inn and bloggers call it free-flowing (kakenagashi); Jalan lists it as free-flowing with water added (加水). Bloggers describe soft, gentle water and a moisturising after-feel; one 2023 reviewer found a tub kept just under 40°C, and a 2025 blogger cooled a too-hot in-room bath with the cold tap.
Three shared baths reached along a 'yukemuri' corridor: the Odaimoku open-air bath (women 12:00–19:00, men 19:30–9:00), the Shimagawa-no-yu riverside open-air bath with three tubs and an indoor bath (men 12:00–19:00, women 19:30–9:00), and the separate men's and women's hinoki Yakushi-no-yu (15:00–10:00). No private family bath. The river runs right beside the open-air baths, lit up at night; in 2023 there was no railing between bath and river, but an August 2026 guest found a newly added wooden frame on the river side cutting into the view. A 2026 Ikyu guest heard the baths are drained and cleaned daily. Children still in nappies may not use the big baths.
No policy found on the official site or Japanese booking sites — contact the inn.
Local Warnings & Nuances
- 01
Check-in 14:30, check-out 11:00. Check-in can bunch up: an October 2026 guest waited about 40 minutes and got into the room after 15:00.
- 02
Staff take your car on arrival and park it in the inn's free lot; an August 2026 guest was moved to a distant, unattended lot when the usual one was full.
- 03
Allergies: the inn has suspended new allergy accommodation (no ingredient removal or substitute menus) for the time being. You may bring allergen-free food and tableware if you declare it in advance, but the inn declines to serve meals to anyone with a history of anaphylaxis, an EpiPen or who cannot tolerate trace contamination.
- 04
Buses between the inn and Nakanojō run roughly once an hour; the area has few shops, though a small Yamazaki shop is next door. The direct Shima Onsen-gō highway bus from Tokyo Station needs a reservation.
- 05
A big, busy inn with banquet halls, a bar with karaoke and an izakaya (20:00–24:00) — lively rather than secluded. Wheelchair loan and an accessible toilet (4F) are available, and guests with mobility issues favour the special rooms.
Sources
The real blog posts and stay reports this article draws on
- 一泊二日で四万温泉 (4travel.jp, 2026年2月)
- 寒波到来の日に四万温泉とたくみの里へ (4travel.jp, 2025年12月)
- まじめに温泉に入る旅 Part 2 四万温泉満喫編 (4travel.jp, 2025年9月)
- 2万円台でお腹も心も満たされる露天風呂付客室温泉宿 (4travel.jp, 2025年3月)
- 温泉と四万ブルー のつもりが・・・緑が綺麗なカフェを巡る♪四万温泉 (4travel.jp, 2023年6月)
- 四万温泉「四万やまぐち館」宿泊レポート！群馬の老舗宿で絶景露天＆美肌湯を満喫 (ニフティ温泉, 2023年10月)
- 渓谷に佇む源泉湯宿 四万やまぐち館 クチコミ (じゃらんnet)
- 渓谷に佇む源泉湯宿 四万やまぐち館 施設概要 (じゃらんnet)
- 四万温泉 やまぐち館 クチコミ (一休.com)
- 四万やまぐち館 (公式サイト)
- お食事のアレルギーについて (四万やまぐち館 公式サイト)
More Consensus Reports
Area photoShima OnsenClassic
Shima Onsen, Nakanojō, Gunma — at the entrance to the onsen village across the road from the Shima river, about 30 minutes by bus from JR Nakanojō Station, with direct highway buses from Tokyo
9 sources
Shima Onsen Kashiwaya Ryokan
四万温泉 柏屋旅館
A 14-room retro-modern inn where three private open-air baths are free, unbooked and usable as often as you like, with a noon check-out — but it's a wooden house with steep stairs, no lift and thin walls, and most rooms have no bath of their own
- Private Onsen Rooms
Shima OnsenValue
Shima Onsen, Nakanojo, Gunma — beside the red bridge at the top of the old onsen village
9 sources
Sekizenkan
積善館
A 1691 bathhouse inn, a 1930 bathhall and a modern tower on one hillside — pick your building carefully, and stay the night for Genroku-no-yu without the day crowds
- Historic Ryokan
- Private Onsen Rooms
Area photoShima OnsenClassic
Shima Onsen, Nakanojō, Gunma — on the bank of the Shima river in the Yamaguchi area of the onsen village, a minute's walk from the Yamaguchi bus stop (about 35 minutes by bus from JR Nakanojō Station, or by direct bus from Tokyo Station)
9 sources
Shima Onsen Toshimaya
四万温泉 豊島屋
A 15-room riverside inn whose every bath — shared, private and in eight of the rooms — runs on its own springs with no water added, no heating and no recirculation; the catch is no lift, a modest dinner for the price and signs of thin staffing
- Private Onsen Rooms
Area photoShima OnsenClassic
Shima Onsen, Nakanojō, Gunma — beside the Shinyu river at the heart of the onsen village, about 40 minutes by bus from JR Nakanojō Station or by direct bus from Tokyo Station
9 sources
Shima Tamura
四万たむら
A bath-keeper's inn since 1563 with seven free-flowing baths from its own riverbed sources — a mixed bath in the river, a waterfall-view open-air bath, a pebble-floored bath where the spring rises underfoot — in a big, ageing, maze-like building
- Historic Ryokan
Area photoYufuinLuxury
Kawakami, Yufuin, Oita — twelve detached villas on a quiet hillside about 5–10 minutes by car from Yufuin Station
9 sources
Sanso Murata
由布院 山荘 無量塔
Twelve villas built from relocated old farmhouses, each with its own onsen, and a bar with a 1930s theatre speaker — Yufuin's most atmospheric hideaway, if you don't need a view or a big bath
- Private Onsen Rooms
- Design-Led
Area photoYufuinPremium
Kawakami, Yufuin, Oita — set back from the Yunotsubo shopping street, a couple of minutes' walk from Lake Kinrin and about 15 minutes on foot from JR Yufuin Station
9 sources
Yufuin Souan Kosumosu
由布院温泉 草庵秋桜
A 12-room 'cooking inn' remodelled by Seven Stars train designer Eiji Mitooka, steps from Lake Kinrin, with free-flowing spring water in every bath and open-air tubs in the cottages — but it sits on Yufuin's busiest strip, the shared baths are small and the cheapest rooms have only a shower
- Private Onsen Rooms
- Destination Dining
Photo credits: The Shima River at Shima Onsen, Gunma · Kentaro Ohno / CC BY 2.0 / Sekizenkan — the Honkan and the red Keiun Bridge, Shima Onsen · Kentaro Ohno / CC BY 2.0 / Mount Yufu from Yufuin Station · Kitayama / CC BY-SA 4.0
Shima Yamaguchikan
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