Yunokura is a small luxury ryokan tucked into the rolling hills of Hirayama in Yamaga City, Kumamoto Prefecture, where every one of its nineteen guest rooms comes with its own private open-air bath fed by 100 percent free-flowing hot spring water. The inn sits at the heart of Hirayama Onsen, a hot spring village renowned across Kyushu as one of the region's finest beauty waters, with origins traced back to the era of the warrior lord Kato Kiyomasa. The water is a strongly alkaline simple sulfur spring of about pH 9.7, served with no added water, no heating and no recirculation, so guests soak in the source at full strength. Bathers immediately notice the silky, almost slippery texture that gives the spring its nickname of bihada no yu, the bath of beautiful skin, leaving the body smooth and softly scented after every soak. In addition to the private rotenburo in each room, the main building offers a public bath, an outdoor bath and a sauna, and seasonal kaiseki cuisine is served in the traditional dining areas Waraji and Chikurin. The ryokan can be reached in about twenty minutes from the Nankan or Kikusui interchange on the Kyushu Expressway, making it an easy detour from Kumamoto City or Fukuoka.