ryokan with onsen at osaka, kyoto or hakone

we'll visit osaka, kyoto and hakone on nov 2015. where would you suggest we book a ryokan with onsen?

based on my research, the ryokans in kyoto don't have onsen. hakone have onsens.

first question would be whether it has to be an onsen, or would a sento do? (hot spring vs hot tap water, more or less)

i'm going the exact same itinerary (more or less) in april. kyoto does have quite a few decent sentos, but as for onsens i'm not so sure.

i think for me, hakone would definitely have more of an onsen feel - i've always wanted to do outdoor onsen and look out at the mountains. :)

do take into consideration there are some situations where onsens and sentos would not permit entrance, - tattoos for example.

enjoy!

I stayed in a ryokan at Nara (Asukasou) that had an onsen on the roof, but I think it was tap water. Hakone has natural water (we stayed at Lalaca at Gora, highly recommended). The water has a lot of sulfur in it, so it stinks like farts but it makes your skin feel good. Kanazawa water has iron in it, we stayed at Hakuchoro there and the water was nearly black (good if you are shy). Takayama water is nice, not sulfuric.

In some cases, a single onsen ryokan will have more than one water source, each water having different properties.

Basically, though, if it were me, I'd choose to have an onsen experience in a rural place, and would choose a ryokan on the basis of how scenic the rotemburo looks (and then on how good the food looks).

Nothing compares to outdoor bathing in a beautiful natural setting. You don't tend to get that in cities.