A historic ryokan located in Toyora, Shimonoseki City, Yamaguchi Prefecture. It was founded in 1923 (Taisho 12) by Tamatsubaki, a juryo-ranked sumo wrestler from Yamaguchi who, after retiring from Osaka sumo, wished to contribute to his hometown's sumo culture and regional tourism. Kawatana Onsen itself has a history spanning over 800 years, with legends dating back to 1183 (Juei 2) when the local lord Taira no Sadamori built bathhouses and opened them to commoners. In 1693, the Choshu domain lord Mori Tsunamoto cherished the spring so much that he established a Goten-yu (lord's private bath) and tea house here. The wandering haiku poet Santoka Taneda also loved this area and composed his famous verse here. The building of Tamatsubaki Ryokan was designated a Registered Tangible Cultural Property of Japan in 2013, featuring a labyrinthine circular layout from successive expansions and a magnificent coffered raised ceiling (oriage gou-tenjo) in the 40-tatami second-floor banquet rooms. Limited to just four guest groups per day, the inn offers a quiet and exclusive stay. The spring water is a weak radioactive calcium-sodium chloride spring drawn directly from the Kawatana source as flow-through (kakenagashi), colorless and transparent with a gentle touch on the skin. Two fully tiled bathing rooms, large and small, are provided.