Iwaso

Kinsuikan

錦水館

A 1902-founded, sixth-generation inn on Miyajima's seafront with a free-drinks rooftop terrace facing the great torii and much-praised oyster-and-anago dinners — but the baths are its weak spot: a heated cold spring in the shared baths, and artificial mineral water or plain hot water in the in-room and private baths

• Cocina como destino

Yamashiro Onsen Rurikoh

山代温泉 瑠璃光

Yamashiro's big 116-room inn with a nightly taiko show, free round-the-clock lobby drinks, vast 24-hour baths and winter crab kaiseki — but the shared water is recirculated, the baths sit down a long flight of stairs, and the ageing building draws dust and upkeep complaints

Yamashiro Onsen Yuzankaku

加賀温泉郷 山代温泉 雄山閣

A 1950s Yamashiro landmark reborn as a budget all-inclusive: free drinks and oden from check-in, a crab-leg and sweet-shrimp buffet with free-flowing Ishikawa sake, and a kids' paradise — but the building is worn, the baths keep breaking down and the crab is often thin

Yudanaka Onsen Aburaya Tosen

湯田中温泉 あぶらや燈千

Yudanaka's modern alternative: top-floor mountain-view baths, a rooftop bar and sushi made at your private dining table — but only some rooms have been renovated, and the older ones show their age

• Cocina como destino

Yudanaka Onsen Yorozuya

湯田中温泉 よろづや

Un sencillo ryokan de hormigón en torno a una de las grandes casas de baños de Japón — el Momoyama-buro, de aire de templo y de los años cincuenta, bien cultural registrado — con buena ternera y soba, pero habitaciones cansadas y un comedor concurrido

• Ryokan históricos

Yufuin Gettoan

ゆふいん 月燈庵

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

• Habitaciones con onsen privado
• Refugios apartados