Minakami Onsen Hotel Tatsumikan

I stayed in a room with an open-air bath that was said to be flowing from the source, but the water smelled disinfectant and the source was hardly out. I searched for a tap for the hot spring, but I couldn't find one, so I had to go to the public bath. I didn't contact the front desk during my stay. This is a scam.

We stayed just one night. We were checked in by a friendly recptionist. There was a little bit of a language gap, but google translate filled in the missing bits :-) Our tattami room was lovely and came with its own outdoor hot bath, we also had access to the other hot bath areas. There was simple system in place if the room is unoccupied you turn the sign to occupied and lock the door, you can then use that bath privately for upto 30 mins. I dont belive this system, operates all year round as there also seemed to be a booking system, but this wasnt in use. There were 3 of these areas available - we used 2. water temp is different in each room. and one has no outdoor space. We opted to put out our own futon, although the hotel will do this for you if you are unsure. Dinner was served in a dining area, with some screens (insufficient) between each group of diners. There is a printed menu of what you will be served and courses are brought out as you eat. Some staff have better english than others but a little japanese and google translate and you will be fine. We thoroughly enjoyed our meals and rolled back to our room stuffed. Breakfast was a similar experience with ample lovely food. The hotel offeres a free shgittle to the train station BUT if you want to get to the shinkansen station you need a taxi it was about 4000 Y (£20), but fortunately there was another couple to we could split it between us. Definitely recommend a stay here.

I visited again after four years. It was a weekday, but there seemed to be a lot of customers. The atmosphere hasn't changed, but it seems that various renovations are underway. It's a little expensive (3,000 yen per hour), but I went to the private bath. The changing room is very spacious, the bathtub is very large, the atmosphere is great, and I think it's worth more than the price.