Oku-Oyasukyo Oyu Onsen Abe Ryokan

Abe Ryokan is the only inn at Oku-Oyasukyo Oyu Onsen, set in a gorge on the uppermost reaches of the Minase River on the western foot of Mount Kurikoma, in Yuzawa City, Akita Prefecture. National forest surrounds the site, and steam still rises from many points along the Oyu River below the building. The spring is said to date from the Bunka era (1804-1817), and local tradition holds that soldiers of the Former Nine Years War in the Heian period treated their wounds here. The present wooden two-story building was completed in 2003, and the inn is a member of the Japan Association of Secluded Hot Spring Inns.

The water is an alkaline simple sulfur spring with a pH of 9.2. It rises naturally, without pumping, at a source temperature of 92.3C, so cold water is added to bring it down to bathing temperature. The water is clear and colorless, soft on the skin, and carries a faint sulfur scent. Most tubs are served free-flowing from the source, while some combine a source-fed spout with in-tub recirculation and filtration.

There are seven baths in all, two indoor and five open-air. They include Kajika-buro, a riverside open-air bath with a standing pool; Seseragi-buro, a half-roofed bath built by the owner himself; a stone open-air bath of Towada and Tako stone; Konjaku-buro, which preserves the look of an old bath hut; Hinoki-buro, with a cypress tub and Aomori hiba interior; and a steam bath heated by the spring itself. The seventh, a mixed-gender natural river bath made by damming water that wells up through the riverbed, is open only from July through September. Day bathing costs 500 yen for adults and 200 yen for children, from 8:30 to 17:00 with last entry at 16:00, closed Thursdays and the second Friday of the month. The inn has nine guest rooms, with overnight stays from 12,150 yen including two meals.