Onsen Recommendations

hello,

i need some onsen recommendations which match the following points:

- open air bath
- mixed baths
- nature scenery (forest, lake)
- near tokyo (2 hours travel time from tokyo at max)
- staying at night (for 1 night) in a classic ryokan room with diner and breakfast
- stroll out in kimono at night

i already visited Takaragawa Onsen and it was a beautiful experience, i look for an onsen in a style of that one.

can somebody please help me out?

thanks
snk-freak

I don't think there is a resort that fits all your conditions.

Kusatsu comes close, although the journey there is a little over 5 hours and besides private baths there aren't any mixed baths. There is also no lake.

Kurokawa Onsen in Kyushu fits everything except that it takes about 4 hours by air to get there. And there is no lake.

Yufuin also comes close to fit everything except that it is also not close to Tokyo. And I can't remember any mixed baths besides private baths.

Hakone also fulfills a lot of the points although walks in kimono are not common and I can't recall any mixed baths besides private baths.

You can try these two places, apart from the travel time, it meets most of your points.

http://www.tengunoyu.net/huro.html

http://www.gorokaku.com/spa.html

you can also consider

Yamanashi: Kofu area

I've got to agree to Uji on this one.

There may be a place - but most places within 2 hours of Tokyo have been totally overdeveloped for the exact reason they are so close to Tokyo (think Atami)

One place which may come close is Shuzenji - but onsen hotels here are probitively expensive.

I'm planning on hopefully visiting Kusatsu onsen soon (which meets most of your criteria) but I think it takes 3 or so hours to get there.

If there is a place that someone knows about - I'm sure many people on the forum would be happy to hear about it.

We stayed at the Kashiwaya Ryokan at Shima Onsen, Gunma and had a great time. About 3 hrs from Tokyo though.
We took a special Shima bound bus from near Tokyo station that was included in a reasonable package price.

I made a typing mistake. Kusatsu is not over 5 hours from Tokyo. I meant over 2 hours. Here are the access details:
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e7403.html

thanks for your recommendations.

i have searched something and came to this decision:
from tokyo we visit takaragawa onsen and from osaka we visit kinosaki and stay there over night.

does kinosaki have mixed baths and open air baths?

which one is the best ryokan/onsen there?

I will recommend your stay at Chojukan in Hoshi Onsen instead of Takaragawa Onsen.

About Kinosaki,

Nishimuraya Honkan or Nishimuraya Shogetsutei they have family bath.

i travel with a friend, not with a family. ;)

are those the best ryokan/onsen in kinosaki?

which ryokan/onsen in kinosaki is the best? i really need advice to book one night there. ;)

which ryokan/onsen in kinosaki is the best? i really need advice to book one night there. ;)

with outdoor bath, mixed. ;)

Nishimuraya Honkan at Kinosaki Onsen has private outdoor baths in some of the rooms. But usually those baths wont have onsen water in them. I dont know whether there is any mixed gender baths at Kinosaki.

Kinosaki,

The public ones, no there is no mixed. Some Ryokan's do have "Family Bath" private 1 hour slots that you could have mix baths.

I stayed here last time http://www.kinosaki-web.com/en/yado/index.php?mode=yado_detail&YadoNo=...

Hope this helps!!
Have Fun!!

Is Nishimuraya Honkan good? And is it very far from the Station?

I havent been yet though we are booked in for a couple of nights in April. They have a brilliant reputation and they are excellent to deal with. The ryokan is said to be a 15 minute walk from the station though there is a shuttle and luggage service.

It isnt cheap, about 75000 JPY per night for one of the rooms with the open air bath.

Nishimuraya Honkan booked for one night (Asuka Room) end of august. Is it in walking distance from the station and is it possible to go out in Yukata and visit the other onsen baths there? Is there a 1 day pass available for alle onsen in kinosaki?