Kamiyashiki Taira no Takafusa

Taira no Takafusa is a single secluded inn standing on a hilltop at about 760 meters in Yunishigawa, Nikko City, Tochigi Prefecture. Yunishigawa Onsen is known as a village of the Heike legend: defeated survivors of the Heike clan are said to have found hot water welling up along the riverbed after the Battle of Dan-no-ura and used it to heal their wounds. The inn sits at the very end of the hot spring valley, further up a mountain road beyond the last bus stop, commanding a sweeping view of the Yunishigawa peaks. With only 19 guest rooms it is a quiet retreat, and a member of the Japan Association of Secluded Hot Spring Inns.

The water is a weakly alkaline simple spring with a pH of 8.5, celebrated as one of Japan's finest waters for the skin, soft and smooth to the touch. The source emerges at 56.6 degrees Celsius with an abundant flow of 120 liters per minute, drawn from the inn's own private source. All open-air baths are filled with free-flowing spring water, while only the indoor baths of the main bathhouse use added heat and water together with filtered circulation.

The bathing facilities comprise two indoor baths and several open-air baths, both gender-separated and private, where guests can soak while taking in the ravine scenery of Yunishigawa. The signature of the inn is its irori kaiseki, a course meal enjoyed around a traditional sunken hearth featuring mountain-village cuisine. An overnight stay with two meals starts around 16,200 yen; check-in is at 15:00 and check-out at 10:00. Day-trip bathing is not offered.