Kanadaichi Onsen Ryokufuso

Standing in Kanadaichi, Ninohe City, Iwate Prefecture — once part of a castle town under the Nanbu domain — Ryokufuso is a single, standalone inn known nationwide as the 'House of the Zashiki-Warashi' and closely tied to the region's Nanbu heritage. The hot spring itself was discovered in 1626, and throughout the Edo period it served as an officially designated therapeutic bathing site for the Nanbu domain, earning the nickname 'Bath of the Samurai.' The legend of the inn's resident zashiki-warashi, known as Kamemaro, reaches back roughly 670 years to the Nanboku-cho period, when the retainers of the warrior Fujiwara Fujifusa, loyal to the Southern Court, fled here after being pursued by Northern Court forces; along the way Fujifusa's six-year-old older brother Kamemaro fell ill and died, vowing with his last words to protect the family 'for generations to come.' His spirit is said to appear ever since as a guardian presence in the inner room known as Enju no Ma. The original building was destroyed by fire in October 2009 but was rebuilt and reopened in May 2016.

The spring water is classified as a simple hot spring, colorless and clear with a soft, gentle texture. Because the source emerges at a relatively cool 33°C, it is heated before reaching the baths, while the inn maintains a 100% source-fed flow without chlorination or recirculation.

The bathing facilities consist of one indoor communal bath each for men and women, with no open-air bath. The inn has 10 Japanese-style rooms accommodating up to 56 guests, and the room called Enju no Ma, where the zashiki-warashi is said to appear, is especially popular and can be booked years in advance. Day-trip bathing requires no reservation and costs 500 yen for adults and 300 yen for children, available from 10:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. (last entry 2:30 p.m.), with free parking for 30 cars.