Yufuin Gettoan

Eighteen detached cottages in the woods outside Yufuin, each with its own free-flowing onsen bath, reached by a suspension bridge from a 300-year-old farmhouse — the food wins praise, but the main-wing rooms are dated, the room baths are small and enclosed, and the paths are hard going

Gettoan sits in the hills outside Yufuin's town centre: you check in at a 300-year-old farmhouse moved here from Yamanashi, then cross a suspension bridge over a stream to 18 detached cottages spread over about 10,000 tsubo (roughly 33,000㎡). Twelve standard cottages form the main wing; the six cottages of the annex copy famous Kyoto tea houses such as Shōkintei and Kohōan. Every cottage has an open-air bath fed by the inn's own simple spring (62°C), which the inn describes as free-flowing, with water added only to cool it. Japanese guests rate it 4.6 across 350 reviews on one major site (5.0 for both breakfast and dinner) and 4.00 across 169 on another, but only 3.52 across 10 on a third. Bloggers in 2022 and 2026 and recent reviewers praise the quiet, the bridge, the empty shared baths, kaiseki served one dish at a time and free matcha ice cream and kabosu sherbet around the clock. What to know before you book: a spring 2026 blogger found the main-wing room dated, the room bath cramped, with only an outdoor shower and a washbasin right beside the sitting room, and caught three stink bugs that night. Other complaints from 2024–2026: no indoor bath, small enclosed room baths, a broken light, a waiter's sharp manner, little to drink beyond a few free cans, and steep paths that a September 2026 guest called impossible for anyone who struggles to walk. Two-meal stays start at about ¥85,400 for two.