Robata

Zao Onsen tells a story that jingisukan, the lamb grilled on a domed iron pan, took its modern shape here in the late 1940s, and Robata sells itself on that story. The owners hand-cut Suffolk lamb thick and make one year's supply of tare each November, then age it for half a year before it reaches the table. The room seats 28 across tables and a sunken-hearth tatami area, and the inn above it rents out only three rooms a night. It sits in the Kawara part of the onsen town, about three minutes on foot from the Zao Onsen bus terminal according to Tabelog.

Come at lunch straight off the slopes or book a table for the 17:00 sitting. Last entry falls an hour before closing, so a 14:30 arrival at lunch is too late. The owner holds mountain-guide and onsen-sommelier credentials, and the inn has its own spring feeding a foot bath and a private bath.