Yamagata Yamagata City
A highland resort nestled among forests and by the lakeside, where you can enjoy milky-white spring water flowing directly from the source in the annexed bathhouse
"Zao Shiki no Hotel" is a highland resort hotel in Zao Onsen, Yamagata City, Yamagata Prefecture. Inside the hotel is Shirakaba no Yu, a large public bath with a weak alkaline mineral spring, where you can admire the changing seasons of Zao through the large windows. After working up a sweat in the sauna, you can feel the refreshing breeze in the open-air bath. A little more than 108 steps from the hotel stands the annexed bathhouse, Hanareyu Hyakuhachiho, where you can fully enjoy milky-white, highly acidic sulfur spring water flowing directly from the source. In the indoor bath, made entirely of wood from the ceiling beams to the floor, and the stone open-air bath overlooking the magnificent mountain range, you can savor an exquisite bathing experience. After your bath, you can spend a peaceful moment in harmony with nature at the foot bath set beside a reflective pond. (Note: Shirakaba no Yu is scheduled to close around January 2027 when the new bathhouse is completed.)

An artificial hot spring in the hotel, featuring a gentle weak alkaline mineral spring that is easy on the skin. It has a bright indoor bath with large windows framing the seasonal scenery of Zao, as well as an open-air bath where you can feel the sweeping panorama of nature and the breeze, allowing your body and mind to unwind at a relaxed pace. (Note: scheduled to close around January 2027 when the new bathhouse is completed.)

An annexed bathhouse standing a little more than 108 steps from the hotel. This warm, wood-finished indoor bath, unified in wood from the ceiling beams to every corner of the floor, is filled with milky-white, highly acidic sulfur spring water unique to Zao, flowing directly from the source. You can enjoy a blissful bath surrounded by the soft feel of wood and the scent of sulfur.

A rustic stone open-air bath adjoining the annexed bathhouse. In a superb location with sweeping views of the magnificent Zao Mountain Range and the Ryuzan ridge, you can soak in fresh sulfur spring water flowing directly from the source that seeps into your skin while breathing in the mountain air of untouched nature.

A charming foot bath in the annexed bathhouse, featuring a reflective pond. The beautiful surrounding natural scenery is mirrored on the water's surface, and it is a pleasant place to meet after bathing or relax in the lounge after your soak, spending a leisurely moment while feeling the cool breeze.

A sauna located next to Shirakaba no Yu, the hotel's large public bath. It is ideal for refreshing yourself after strolling through Zao's nature or enjoying winter sports, and lets you quietly work up a sweat and clear away the fatigue and stress of everyday life. (Note: scheduled to close around January 2027 when the new bathhouse is completed.)
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[Day-use bathing] 11:30-16:00 (reception)
Zao Onsen
A peaceful inn embraced by Zao’s great nature and milky-white natural hot spring water flowing directly from the source
Zao Onsen
A Taisho-era romantic inn where you can enjoy a tatami-mat interior and milky-white free-flowing source spring water bubbling up from the stone embankment
Yamagata
A hotel floating above the rice fields, featuring a natural hot spring fed directly from the source and designer saunas
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Most of what we surveyed never made it onto this site. This is a further cut from what did — places the editor bathed in himself, and places chosen through our own reporting.