Arai Ryokan

Fifteen registered-heritage buildings around a carp pond and a 1934 hinoki bathhall designed by a painter — lovely, if you can manage the stairs and a cold winter corridor

Arai Ryokan opened in Shuzenji in 1872, and fifteen of its buildings — dating from 1881 to the 1930s and linked by bridges and corridors around a carp pond — were registered as Tangible Cultural Properties in 1998. Painters shaped it: Yasuda Yukihiko designed the famous Tenpyo bathhall and several rooms, and Yokoyama Taikan had a private room built. The Tenpyo bath (1934) is the reason most people come: all hinoki with an Izu-stone rim, a window onto the carp pond and no taps — you scoop water with a wooden bucket. Japanese guests rate the baths highest (4.6–4.75 across three booking sites, with 439 reviews on one) and like the attentive room attendants, the gardens and the bridges. Many rooms have their own onsen bath too. The complaints are about age and consistency: stairs and steps everywhere with no lift, outdoor corridors and bathrooms that are cold in winter, food that some find ordinary for the price or served lukewarm, thin futons, and two scathing 2026 reviews about rude staff. Recent guests paid roughly ¥23,000–30,000+ per person with two meals.