Yamamizuki Onsen Ryokan

Of the dozen or so hot springs ryokan clustered into Kurokawa Onsen, you'd be hard-pressed to pick a favorite. Yamamizuki, however, comes close to the top of the list for me. Located outside the village proper, on a narrow ride that skirts both a rushing stream and tranquil rice paddies, the traditional inn is one of the larger ones in this Kumamoto escape. This doesn't mean that personal service is in anyway lacking, though; staff will greet you cheerfully and escort you to your room. All of the accommodation here is in the traditional Japanese style, meaning your beds are futons that will only make an appearance while you are at dinner or the baths and they will magically disappear back to their closets in the morning while you're out. Even when they're laid out, the rooms still feel large, helped by an indoor "porch" area that looks out onto the garden's maples.

Tempted as you might be to spend the majority of your time relaxing in the room, you'd be missing out on the best part of Yamamizuki - the baths. Carefully landscaped garden paths lead to gender-separated outdoor hot springs with picturesque pools that sit right at the edge of the river (and several waterfalls). Leave your towel and your modesty in the nearby wooden bathhouse - bathing here is in the buff. There are also no showers near the river baths, so if you are coming directly from off the premises, use one of the supplied buckets to at least rinse off. Down from the river bath is a covered bathhouse, where two steaming pools look out through open sides onto the forest. There ARE showers here, so if you need a good scrub, use the soap and shampoo provided. Rock paths connect the various baths and while it may feel odd to parade back and forth in nothing but your birthday suit, rest assured that there's no one on the other side of the river. If public bathing isn't your thing, ask at the front desk about reserving the ryokan's family onsen for use by the hour.

Just in case the baths haven't blown you away, just wait for dinner. Meals at Yamamizuki are taken in private dining areas with your own personal server for the entire meal. Like any good ryokan, the food comes from the surrounding area - trout, mushrooms, and various veggies from the forest; milk-based products from the dairies around Mt Aso; and the region's highly regarded beef. You'll barely be able to move after your meal but digest as quick as you can, because you get to do it all over again in the morning. With a setting like this, you'll want to linger as long as you can.