Araya Totoan

The 18th-generation keepers of the lord's bath, Rosanjin's patrons, with Yamashiro's most generous spring flowing into most rooms — and winter crab that can cost over ¥200,000 for two

Araya Totoan traces its line to 1639, when the Daishoji lord named the first owner keeper of the key to his bath; the current owner is the 18th generation, and the inn sits at Yamashiro's original spring. In the 1910s the young Rosanjin lived in Yamashiro learning pottery, and the 15th-generation owner supported him — the inn still holds his calligraphy, screens and what's said to be his first ceramic piece, shown in a tea-room gallery. The water is the other treasure: about 100,000 litres a day, the most in Yamashiro by the inn's account, fills three atmospheric baths (including Karasu-yu, a dim 'meditation bath') that swap between men and women so you can try all three, and 11 of the 17 rooms have their own free-flowing tub. Japanese guests rate it 4.55 across 67 reviews on one leading site, with baths at 4.72, and praise the art, tableware, staff warmth and cleanliness. Meals are in private dining rooms, built on fish from nearby Hashidate port and tagged Kano crab in winter. The criticisms concern value at the top end: two guests paying around ¥200,000 a night for two were disappointed — by pre-cut crab they called tasteless, or by hair in the room bath — and others found amenities 'surprisingly ordinary', breakfast on the ordinary side, portions small or service rushed.