Nozawa Onsen Muranohoteru Sumiyoshiya

Sumiyoshiya is a hot spring inn in the heart of Nozawa Onsen, in Toyosato, Nozawa Onsen Village, Nagano Prefecture, founded in 1869 (the second year of the Meiji era). It is a small inn with only 11 rooms in total (7 in the main building, 4 in the annex) and accepts just ten parties a night, making it a fitting base from which to explore Nozawa Onsen's famous circuit of thirteen public bathhouses in addition to its own bath.

The water is a sodium-calcium sulfate spring, weakly alkaline and of low osmotic pressure. Two sources on the property well up on their own at 90 degrees Celsius, and the inn adds no water, no heat and no circulation; the water is simply cooled by the wind to a comfortable temperature before flowing into the baths. The tubs are drained and refilled with fresh source water every day.

The bathing facilities include a large indoor-outdoor bath called Kamabe-no-yu (one large, one small tub) and a private bath available for 4,000 yen per hour. The hot spring is reserved for overnight guests only; day-trip bathing is not offered. Rates start from around 36,750 yen (tax included) per person for one night with two meals, based on double occupancy.