Oze Kamatajuku Onsen Umedaya Ryokan

Umedaya Ryokan at Oze Kamatajuku Onsen stands in the old post town of Kamata in Katashina Village, Gunma Prefecture, along the Numata Kaido (National Route 120) that links Oze and Nikko. A member of the Association to Protect Japan's Secret Hot Springs, it sits at a key point on the highway running from the Numata Interchange toward Nikko, and has long served as a base for hikers and researchers heading into the Oze marshlands. Its full name is Oze Kamatajuku Onsen Mizubasho-no-yu Umedaya Ryokan, and it is well known as a gateway for Oze sightseeing.

The water is a clear, colorless alkaline simple spring with a source temperature of about 40.5C and a flow of roughly 45 liters per minute. Smooth on the skin and leaving it soft and moist after bathing, it is popular with women as a beauty-enhancing bath. The water is heated and supplied in a combined circulation and flow-through system, with fresh source water constantly overflowing from the tubs.

The inn offers five baths in total, three indoor and two open-air, plus a private bath that guests may use free of charge. The hot springs are available from 14:00 until 10:00 the next morning. With only 12 rooms, the ryokan is intimate and quiet. Day-trip bathing is not offered, so the baths are for overnight guests only; stays with two meals start from 13,350 yen. In winter (December to March) only one of the open-air baths operates.