Yunosawa Onsen Toki no Yado Sumire

Toki no Yado Sumire is the only inn at Yunosawa Onsen, tucked into the hills of Sekine in Yonezawa, Yamagata Prefecture. The spring rises from the middle of Sekine Kinzan, the hill behind the inn. Yunosawa is an old hot spring said to be listed in a guide to the springs of Japan compiled before the Genroku era, and local legend says a retainer of Minamoto no Yoshitsune found an injured monkey healing itself in the water. The inn opened in 1980 as Sumire-so. In 2005 the third-generation owner renamed it Toki no Yado Sumire and turned it into a ten-room inn for two guests per room.

The water is a simple hot spring (hypotonic, neutral, low-temperature) with a source temperature of 27 degrees Celsius. It is heated to a comfortable bathing temperature, but no water is added and none is recirculated, so every bath uses 100 percent source water flowing freely. The soft water has long been used for external wounds, skin conditions, rheumatism, nerve pain and general fatigue.

The inn has two indoor baths and two private open-air baths. Mori to Kaze no Yu (with an open deck) and Toki to Hikari no Yu (with an open-air bath) switch between men and women after dinner. The private open-air baths, Komorebi no Yu and Seseragi no Yu, are free whenever they are vacant. All four can be used around the clock except during cleaning. Rooms are booked for two guests, and the Yonezawa beef kaiseki is the highlight of a stay. Day visitors can only come for the lunch plan at the restaurant Sumire-an, which includes a bath after the meal and must be booked two days ahead.