A hot spring inn for the gourmet traveler
An onsen (hot spring) village surrounded by rural landscape, Ueki Onsen is located by the Koshi River and is famous for its alkaline water, with an acidity of around pH8.0. Soaking in this onsen will make your skin soft and bright, as the alkaline water helps to exfoliate off old skin cells. One of the inns to offer the beautifying bathing water is Ryokan Yaya no Yu. The inn is accurately named, because a dip in the inn’s yu (bath water) will make your skin look like a yayako’s (baby). There are six guest rooms, all of which have private, luxurious open-air baths using water flowing directly from the hot spring source. The inn has also built a new Italian restaurant, Trattoria Il Gattino, in April 2020. The restaurant serves plates using seasonal ingredients and local organic vegetables, which are paired with natural wine as well as sake from local breweries. The barista of Yanagiya Cafe, another venue inside the inn, makes authentic espressos and cappuccinos.
