Futamata Onsen Kashiwaya Ryokan

I stayed here with a group of four friends eight years ago, and at the time, I was so impressed by the natural spring rock bath and the rustic open-air bath across the river that I definitely wanted to stay there again someday. However, the open-air bath was damaged in a typhoon in 2019, and the inn was closed for several years. Just when I thought it had finally reopened, that wonderful open-air bath was gone, and the website said that a new open-air bath had been built outside the indoor bath. As a result, I lost interest in this inn all at once and never visited. However, another attraction, the natural spring bath, is still intact, so I revisited for the first time in eight years. Niki Onsen is a place that is not visited by many people, with only five inns deep in the mountains and no signs of excitement, as it was before. However, when I visited Kashiwaya for the first time in eight years, the lobby, rooms, changing rooms, the newly built open-air bath, and the rest area on the way to the natural spring had all been beautifully renovated, and it was clear that a considerable amount of money had been invested in rebuilding it. The new outdoor bath is located just outside the indoor bath, and is quite small compared to the previous rustic outdoor bath, which was a little disappointing, but the men and women are switched in the morning and evening, and with the addition of the artesian spring, there are a total of five baths, so in that sense it was good for bath lovers. The outdoor bath on the other side of the river was buried in snow, but the bathtub and changing room remained as they were, and the inn's proprietress said that although there were many voices calling for its reconstruction, the government did not grant permission (since it is on the other side of the river, it is owned by the national or prefectural government?), so they were forced to give up. She also told us many other things, such as the history of this hot spring. We visited at the end of the year, and there were only four groups staying, including us, so we were able to spend a relaxing time. The food was not much different from before, but there was a decent selection of dishes, mainly local produce, and we were satisfied. I hope this inn will continue to do well in the future.