Koka Shinobi no Yado Miyano Onsen

Miyano Onsen is a single-inn hot spring tucked into a wooded valley in Sugatani, Konan-cho, Koka City, Shiga Prefecture, in the homeland of the Koka school of ninja. It lies about two kilometres southwest of JR Konan Station on the Kusatsu Line, surrounded by rice paddies and coppice woodland, and has welcomed cure-seekers for more than a century as a sacred spring. The Koka Ninja House and Aburahi Shrine stand nearby, and the surrounding countryside still carries the atmosphere of the old ninja villages.

The water is a cold mineral spring of the alkaline-earth chloride and sodium chloride type, emerging at 14 degrees Celsius with a neutral pH of 7.7. Because the source is cool, the water is heated for the baths. It is clear and colourless with a notably soft feel on the skin, and is said to help with rheumatism, neuralgia, chronic skin complaints and fatigue. The inn draws on and maintains its own source.

The bathhouse comprises separate mens and womens indoor baths fitted with a warm-stone foot bath, an open-air bath, and a private open-air bath named Kakuremino set with a Shigaraki-ware tub. Day-trip bathing runs from 11:00 to 20:00 at 1,000 yen for adults, 800 yen for elementary school children and 500 yen for younger children. The private family open-air bath costs 4,500 yen per pair or 5,000 yen per family for one hour. Overnight stays start at 9,900 yen without meals and 22,000 yen with two meals. Free parking holds 40 cars and five coaches.