Onsen | SHIZUOKA GOURMET

Service: Smiling and attentive
Facilities & Equipment: Traditional and ancient, partly renovated, but extremely clean. Great washrooms. Spacious lobby with free coffee et al.
Prices: Appropriate to expensive. Cheaper on weekdays and in low seasons.
Strong points: Great baths overall. Private outdoors bath in rooms. Local gastronomy with local products.

Complimentary glass of white wine!

Izu Peninsula is known all over Japan and beyond for its innumerable hot springs and hot springs spas/hotels.
It is for the more pleasurable that most serve excellent gastronomy thanks to the many local products be they from the land or the sea.

The Dragon and I, taking advantage of a cheaper fee in mid week during the off season traveled to Mishima before boarding the Izu Hakone Railway Line and get off at izu Nagaoka Station.

There we stayed overnight at a renown spa hotel called Yoshiharu/古春 (meaning “Old Spring”).
It is a venerable establishment although it has been greatly reformed 2 years ago.

The overnight stay included dinner and breakfast, the usual deal in such hotels, so I will have to divide this report into 3 parts, otherwise you will miss all the good points!

Beautifully renewed lobby!

You will discover a hot spring foot bath on the way to your room!
As the hot water runs away all the time you can rest your feet in clean water!

Inner garden!

These fish are made of leather!

The dining room overlooks another small garden with pond and minuscule waterfalls!

Rock garden!

Our own traditional Japanese room!

Our own private outdoors hot spring bath and patio!

Fences and edges keep off any unwanted eyes except those of many wild birds!

Pastoral atmosphere?

Easy chairs!

Always clean yourself before entering your bath!

The bath!

Fresh water constantly moving in and out of the bath!

The bath is deep enough for the water to reach your neck when you sit on the tiled bottom!

Now, there are other outdoors baths of two different kinds:
-Private baths whose door you can lock for total privacy provided they are vacant.
-Public baths where you can either bathe inside or outside!

Let’s have a peek at all of them!

Italian-style bathtub!

Japanese-style double bath!

A grand bath made all of wood!
Probably my favorite!

Jacuzzi bath!

Another Japanese-style bath all made of carved stone!

Now to the public bath!
This is entry for ladies!
Remember the Kanji!

And remember the kanji for gentlemen, too!

The indoors public bath!

And finally the public outdoors bath!

See you at dinner next!

YOSHIHARU HOTEL
Izu No Kuni City, Nagaoka, 989-10
Get down at Izu Nagaoka Station along the Izu Hakone Railway Line (leaving form Mishima City). Take a taxi (under 1,000 yen)
Tel.: 055-948-1212
Credit Cards OK
HOMEPAGE (Japanese)

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