Miyamaso Takamiya

Takamiya has stood at the top of Takayu-dori, the narrow bath street, since 1716, and the inn takes its name from that high spot. It owns three springs and runs them through nine tubs without mixing or recirculating. The water is Zao's strongly acidic sulphur spring, and it runs milky white.

Two bathhouses swap between men and women each day. Choju no Yu keeps the black-lacquered boards and heavy beams of an old toji bathhouse, while Seseragi no Yu sits by the Sukawa stream with stone and cypress tubs. The private Kibitaga-yu, a large Shigaraki tub, costs ¥3,000 for 50 minutes from 7:00 to 22:00, and you book it at the front desk on the day.

Nineteen rooms run from a 30-square-metre single to Hinakura, a 110-square-metre detached villa, and several rooms carry their own open-air tub. Cars cannot reach the front door, so drivers call from near the Yamagata Kotsu bus terminal and staff guide them to the free car park and carry the bags. Guests arriving by bus get a free pick-up from the terminal when they phone.