Hiratani Onsen Iori

Hiratani Onsen Iori is a lone inn set in a mountain valley of the Tara range in Yamaura, Kashima City, Saga Prefecture, close to the border with Nagasaki. It stands beside the upper reaches of the Honjo (Nakagawa) River, which flows into the Ariake Sea, near the trailhead for Mount Kyogatake. The surrounding Nogomi Gorge is celebrated for its scenery and nicknamed Hizen Yabakei, and it is one of the finest spots for autumn foliage in Kashima. The spring has served as a therapeutic bathing site for samurai and commoners since the late Edo period, roughly 150 years ago, and to this day Iori remains the only lodging in the hot spring area.

The water is classified as a simple hot spring, hypotonic, weakly alkaline and low in temperature. The pH is around 7.58 and the source emerges at roughly 28.4C, so the water is heated before it reaches the baths; the facility's legally required notice also states that filtration-recirculation and disinfectant are used. The bath is clear and colorless with a soft, mild feel, and is recommended for neuralgia, muscle and joint pain, frozen shoulder, poor circulation and general fatigue.

Only one group is accepted per day, staying in a detached Japanese-style room with a Kyoto-style kaiseki dinner. Check-in is at 14:00 and check-out at 10:00. Bathing takes place at the affiliated day-use facility Hiratani Onsen Yamabuki-no-Yu, which offers separate men's and women's view baths overlooking Nogomi Gorge, open-air baths, and two private indoor baths. Day bathing runs 8:00 to 21:00 year-round at 800 yen for adults and 400 yen for children, with private baths at 3,500 yen per hour. A cafe, ONSEN COFFEE Yuya, opened on the same grounds in December 2025.