Hikage Onsen

We drove to the hotel in February, after the snow had melted, and stayed overnight. It's located in the mountains near the border with Aomori Prefecture. It's a charming, two-story, traditional wooden building. The lobby had a retro feel, with a wood-burning stove burning. The coffee machine was broken, so drip coffee packets, tea bags, and ice cream bars were available free of charge. There's no elevator, so we climbed the stairs to our second-floor guest rooms. The two luxuriously spacious Japanese-style rooms were so spacious that the bedrooms alone felt like more than enough. There was no TV in the room, but Wi-Fi was available. Canned beer and bottled green tea were complimentary in the refrigerator. The hand soap and tea bags in the room were slightly nicer than what you'd normally buy at home. We had dinner and breakfast in a small private room in the restaurant. The food was sumptuous considering the price of the room. The pork shabu-shabu, kiritanpo (simmered rice balls), and the coffee blancmange dessert (although quite fatty) were particularly delicious. The reasonable price of wine by the glass, 550 yen, was also a plus. The hot springs included a large public bath, an open-air bath, and a private bath. There were two private baths, one lukewarm and one hot, and I reserved the hot one. It wasn't very hot. The water was cloudy and had a faint sulfur smell. The sulfur smell transferred slightly to my clothes. It seems to be effective for skin diseases, as it seemed to reduce the itching of my rough hands and eczema, and the effects lasted for about two days after I returned home. The open-air bath that my husband Ponta used had a roof and a fence, so it wasn't very open, and was more of a semi-open-air bath. It was my first time at Hikage Onsen, and the gourmet food and famous hot springs gave me an extraordinary experience. I've decided to make this one of my favorite hot spring inns. By the way, day use admission was 800 yen.

The sulfur spring water, which turns pure white when it comes into contact with the air, flows freely into the large communal bath and five private baths, allowing you to bathe while taking in the view of the lush green mountains in summer and the snowy landscapes in winter. One of the four hot spring outlets is an iron-containing spring, which has different water quality from sulfur springs. Be sure to reserve one of the three special rooms where you can bathe in this hot spring. FYI "Hot spring deposits" are substances that solidify or precipitate from components dissolved in hot spring water. They are formed when hot springs bubble up to the surface, causing changes in temperature, pressure, and pH value. They can also clog hot water pipes, making them a formidable opponent for hot spring caretakers.

Renovated japanese style inn preserving the frame of old wooden architecture. The facilities are very clean. The food is nice. The staffs are also nice. In the main bath, there are indoor and outdoor baths with a different types of hot spring. The inner bath is a sulfur hot spring, cloudy white and salty and bitter. No sliminess. The open air bath is also a similar sulfur hot spring, but more salty. The most significant point in the open air bath is that the water or surrounding stuffs smell like sewage. Private bath Menke yukko is as same as the main inner bath, which is nice. Private bath Urugeru yukko smells like sewage more than main open air bath, which I couldn’t get used to. Overall, everything except sewage smell was excellent.

The room we got was HUGE! We had tatami living room + western style bedroom. And beds were soft and comfortable!!! Both dinner and breakfast were excellent, top quality with locally sourced seasonal items so delicious!!! Enjoyed free private onsen sessions that we were able to reserve once in the evening and once in the morning. Also appreciated free drink bar (coffee/tea) and fridge filled with ice bars. Service was exceptional. Facility was very clean. Onsen was relaxing with cloudy color with sulfur odor, but not overwhelming. This place is where you can truly enjoy traditional Japanese onsen experience. LOVED it. We end up driving from Morioka, but I would have loved to take the train next time. JR Ou Line.

This place is beautiful in the winter, a peaceful getaway. Rooms are well-kept, clean. The onsen, especially the private rooms that you can book, are beautiful. (This is from a sulphur spring, from what I understand, so there is a smell that you will have to get used to.) The staff here are wonderful, especially Munakata-san who essentially carries the fifth star for this rating on his capable shoulders. He did his best to make us feel at home by chatting with us in English, helped us to get rid of overnight snow from our car (sorry, we live in a country with eternal summer), and frequently offered to take pictures for us (his photo-taking skills are excellent, by the way).