Nozawa Onsen Tokiwaya Ryokan

Tokiwaya Ryokan stands right next to Oyu, the symbolic public bathhouse of Nozawa Onsen, in the Toyosato area of Nozawa Onsen Village, Shimotakai District, Nagano Prefecture. Tradition holds that the inn was founded in the Kan'ei era (1624-1645), giving it roughly 380 years of history alongside the hot-spring town.

The inn draws on two distinct sources. Sennin-buro ("thousand-person bath") shares its source with the neighboring Oyu bathhouse and is a simple sulfur spring at about 70C and pH 7.4, while Yakushi-no-yu, the inn's own source rising within its grounds, is a weakly alkaline sulfur spring at pH 8.5 and 68-70C. Both rise naturally and are served completely undiluted and unheated, 100% straight from the source. The baths are open from 3pm until 9am the next morning, with men's and women's baths swapping at 9pm.

Guest rooms come in five types: a special suite overlooking Oyu, standard and compact Japanese-Western rooms, a standard Japanese room, and a Western twin renovated in December 2023. Dining is offered in three styles of dining room: fully private, semi-private, and a large hall. The whole building is non-smoking with free Wi-Fi throughout, and the baths are reserved for overnight guests only, with no day-trip bathing offered.