Yamakawa Onsen Shirahana Symphony

Shirahana Symphony is a ten-room ryokan at Yamakawa Onsen in Kitazato, Oguni Town, Aso District, Kumamoto Prefecture, standing beside the clear Kitazato River. Yamakawa Onsen forms part of the Waita foothills hot spring district alongside Hage-no-yu and Take-no-yu, a quiet valley holding roughly eight inns. The area is listed among Kumamoto's hundred finest firefly habitats, and fireflies drift along the river from June into July. The inn's name comes from a phrase meaning to walk through the forest in the light of day.

The water is a sulphur spring, weakly acidic and hypotonic, issuing at 53 degrees Celsius. The inn states plainly that nothing is added and nothing is recirculated: no cold water, no reheating, no filtration. The colour shifts between milky white and clear from one day to the next, and thick flakes of yu-no-hana mineral bloom drift through the tubs. Posted benefits include cuts, burns, chronic skin conditions, chronic gynaecological complaints, diabetes and arteriosclerosis, and the water is described as suitable for drinking.

Bathing consists of two large private open-air baths plus separate men's and women's bathhouses that pair an indoor tub with an adjoining open-air one, all available to staying guests at any hour. Two detached rooms have private open-air baths fed by a separate proprietary source. Day-trip bathing runs 11:00 to 15:00 and is closed on Wednesdays, at 600 yen for adults and 300 yen for children, with a private bath at 2,500 yen for up to three people. Parking is free for 30 cars.