A valley twenty minutes from the onsen town
Tsukishiro lies in a valley about twenty minutes by car from the Kurokawa Onsen hot spring town. There are no shops around us and no street lights at night. Almost the only sound is the river.
You won't stroll the streets at night in a yukata and clacking geta, as you would at an inn in town. Instead, switch off the lights in your room and the stars come out bright.
I think of this as an inn people come to so they can do nothing at all.
Combining it with bath-hopping
Kurokawa Onsen sells a “Nyuto Tegata” pass that lets you visit three outdoor baths. More and more guests spend the early afternoon bath-hopping in town, then come on to Tsukishiro in the evening.
The owner suggests finishing your bath-hopping before check-in. Have one more soak in our main bath before dinner, he says, and you'll feel your body slowly unwind.
Prices and opening hours for the pass can change. Please check at the Kurokawa Onsen information center before you go.
What we do to keep it quiet
- We keep to just nine rooms.
- The main bath is open all night, and can be reserved for private use when free.
- There is no curfew. We give you a front door key, so feel free to take a night walk. We'll lend you a flashlight.
Who we may not suit
If you'd like to stroll the onsen town at night, we recommend an inn in town. Getting there from Tsukishiro requires a car, and we don't run evening shuttles.
Better to say so up front than to have guests come who won't enjoy it. That's why we decided to write this down too.