Onsen Ranking 2011 by Biglobe

Yubatake or Onsen Pond of first ranked Kusatsu Onsen, Gunma Pref. It's not for soaking.

The Biglobe's recently released "Forth Onsen Awards", shows popular onsen ranking as well (As for most popular onsen ryokan/hotel ranking, see my previous post).

1. Kusatsu Onsen (Gunma Pref)
2. Yufuin Onsen (Oita Pref)
3. Arima Onsen (Hyogo Pref)
4. Noboribetsu Onsen (Hokkaido)
5. Gero Onsen (Gifu Pref)
6. Hakone-yumoto Onsen (Kanagawa Pref)
7. Kinosaki Onsen (Hyogo Pref)
8. Kurokawa Onsen (Kumamoto Pref)
9. Dogo Onsen (Ehime Pref)
10. Ikaho Onsen (Gunma Pref)
11. Beppu Onsen (Oita Pref)
12. Atami Onsen (Shizuoka Pref)
13. Gora Onsen (Kanagawa Pref)
14. Nozawa Onsen (Nagano Pref)
15. Wakura Onsen (Ishikawa Pref) no English site
16. Ibusuki Onsen (Kagoshima Pref)
17. Shirahama Onsen (Wakayama Pref)
17. Beppu Onsen-kyo (Wider Beppu area, Oita Pref)
19. Nyuto Onsen-kyo (Akita Pref)
20. Jozankei Onsen (Hokkaido)

You can see top 100 ranking on Biglobe Onsen site (in Japanese only)

Yokikan, Ito Onsen, Shizuoka Pref.

Came back from Ito Onsen, Shizuoka Prefecture. My pick today is a ryokan named "Yokikan". A 30 meters long in-house cable car (see pictures on their official website) takes you to an open-air bath on upper floor. You can see the Ito town, the sea and others from the bath.

It's a mixed bath, but as for day visit, probably they will let you or your group to soak for yourself or yourselves when business is slow. If you stay overnight, it turns "ladies only bath" at 7:30PM to 9:00PM and 6:00AM to 7:30 AM.

There are gender separated indoor baths as well. If you also want to soak indoor bath, you have to pay another ¥1,000. Of course you can soak as much asu you want if you stay over night.

Limited express "Izu Odoriko" takes you to Ito directly from Tokyo Station taking less than 2 hours.



◆Yokikan, Ito Onsen, Shizuoka Pref. （伊東温泉陽気館）

Type: Gender mixed open-air bath, gender separated indoor baths

Address: 2-24 Suehiro-cho, Ito-shi, Shizuoka Pref.

Location:  34.966944, 139.090591

Access: About ten minutes walk from the Ito Station.

Business hour of day visit : 11:00 AM to 3:00 PM

Holiday: Busy season (new year, golden week, mid August)

Admission fee: ¥1,000 (including bath towel hire)

Link: Official website of Yokikan in English

My rating (A-E): B


Inside of their cable car.

"Second Onsen Award" released by Biglobe

Another onsen ranking news came in. The Biglobe, a leading portal site in Japan released "The Second Onsen Award" late last month. This is rather new face survey, they started this award last year.The survey is based not only on polls by nearly forty thousand users, but also on access data of their sites and users' reviews.


Although you can't soak yourself in, the Yubatake (Onsen field) is a symbol of first ranked Kusatsu Onsen, Gunma Pref.　(photo: Dec.2003)

Second ranked Yufuin Onsen, Oita Pref. is known for onsen resort. At the same time there are some shabby public baths (My favorites) scattered around. You can see Mt. Yufu from almost everywhere in Yufuin. (photo: Jan. 2008)

Onsen steam rising from the Jigokudani or hell valley in the winter at the third ranked Noboribetsu Onsen, Hokkaido. (Photo: courtesy of Yun-san http://www.yunphoto.net/)

The top10 rankings are as follows:

1. (1) Kusatsu Onsen, Guma Pref. Kanto Region
2. (2) Yufuin Onsen, Oita Pref. Kyushu Region
3. (4) Noboribetsu Onsen, Hokkaido
4. (3) Arima Onsen, Hyogo Pref. Kansai Region
5. (5) Hakone Yumoto Onsen, Kanagawa Pref. Kanto Region
6. (6) Kinosaki Onsen, Hyogo Pref. Kansai Region
7. (8) Gero Onsen, Gifu Pref. Tokai Region
8. (9) Kurokawa Onsen, Kumamoto Pref. Kyushu Region
9. (11)Dogo Onsen, Ehime Pref. Shikoku Region
10. (7) Beppu Onsen, Oita Pref. Kyushu Region

(Last year's rankings)

2009 Ryokan Rankings in five sectors

The Travel Economic News, the weekly newspaper focused in travel business released annual survey of "250 Best Ryokans" (without ranking) and each ranking in five sectors - cuisine, service, bath, establishment, and atmosphere. 250 ryokans are too many for me to make a list, and I made lists of top 10 rankings in each sector in 2009.

Subject of this survey isn't consumers, but professionals like travel agents and travel related organs, and they might have some business relationship with these ryokans and hotels. I feel the following rankings contain more big scale places compared to other ryokan rankings. Linked are Official websites in English.

◆Cuisine

1. Hotel Syusuien, Ibusuki Onsen, Kagoshima Pref.
2. Akan Yukunosato Tsuruga, Akanko Onsen, Hokkaido
3. Ibusuki Hakusuikan, Ibusuki Onsen, Kagoshima Pref.
4. Kagaya, Wakura Onsen, Ishikawa Pref.
5. Yamatoya Honten, Dogo Onsen, Ehime Pref.
6. Yufuin Tamanoyu, Yufuin Onsen, Oita Pref.
7. Otani Sanso, Nagato-yumoto Onsen, Yamaguchi Pref.
8. Suimeikan, Gero Onsen, Gifu Pref.
9. Inatori Ginsuiso, Inatori Onsen, Shizuoka Pref.
10. Nishimuraya Honkan, Kinosaki Onsen, Hyogo Pref.

◆Service

1. Akan Yukunosato Tsuruga, Akanko Onsen, Hokkaido
2. Kagaya, Wakura Onsen, Ishikawa Pref.
3. Ibusuki Hakusuikan, Ibusuki Onsen, Kagoshima Pref.
4. Otani Sanso, Nagatoyumoto Onsen, Yamaguchi Pref.
5. Yamatoya Honten, Dogo Onsen, Ehime Pref.
6. Hotel Syusuien, Ibusuki Onsen, Kagoshima Pref.
7. Unzen Miyazaki Ryokan Unzen Onsen, Nagasaki Pref.
8. Inatori Ginsuiso, Inatori Onsen, Shizuoka Pref.
9. Nishimuraya Honkan, Kinosaki Onsen, Hyogo Pref.
10. Yufuin Tamanoyu, Yufuin Onsen, Oita Pref.

◆Bath

1. Ibusuki Hakusuikan, Ibusuki Onsen, Kagoshima Pref.
2. Akan Yukunosato Tsuruga, Akanko Onsen, Hokkaido
3. Kagaya, Wakura Onsen, Ishikawa Pref.
4. Daiichi Takimotokan, Noboribetsu Onsen, Hokkaido
5. Suimeikan, Gero Onsen Gifu Pref.
6. Otani Sanso, Nagato-yumoto Onsen, Yamaguchi Pref.
7. Yamamizuki, Kurokawa Onsen, Kumamoto Pref.
8. Yamatoya Honten, Dogo Onsen, Ehime Pref.
9. Tsurunoyu Onsen, Nyuto Onsenkyo, Akita Pref.
10. Yukyonohibiki Yusai, Kurokawa Onsen, Kumamoto Pref.
    

◆Establishment

1. Kagaya, Wakura Onsen, Ishikawa Pref.
2. Ibusuki Hakusuikan, Ibusuki Onsen, Kagoshima Pref.
3. Akan Yukunosato Tsuruga, Akanko Onsen, Hokkaido
4. Otani Sanso, Nagato-yumoto Onsen, Yamaguchi Pref.
5. Yamatoya Honten, Dogo Onsen, Ehime Pref.
6. Shiratamanoyu Kahou, Tsukioka Onsen, Niigata Pref.
7. Suimeikan, Gero Onsen, Gifu Pref.
8. Arima Ground Hotel, Arima Onsen, Hyogo Pref.
9. Dogokan, Dogo Onsen, Ehime Pref.
10. Yahataya, Bobata Onsen, Fukushima Pref.
    

◆Atmosphere

1. Ibusuki Hakusuikan, Ibusuki Onsen, Kagoshima Pref.
2. Akan Yukunosato Tsuruga, Akanko Onsen, Hokkaido
3. Yufuin Tamanoyu, Yufuin Onsen, Oita Pref.
4. Nishimuraya Honkan, Kinosaki Onsen, Hyogo Pref.
5. Yamatoya Honten, Dogo Onsen, Ehime Pref.
6. Otani Sanso, Nagato-yumoto Onsen, Yamaguchi Pref.
7. Yamamizuki, Kurokawa Onsen, Kumamoto Pref.
8. Myojinkan, Tobira Onsen, Nagano Pref.
9. Kagaya, Wakura Onsen, Ishikawa Pref.
10. Tsurunoyu Onsen, Nyuto Onsenkyo, Akita Pref.

I can't label each prefecture because "The combined length of all the labels must be at most 200 characters".

Recent Updates

[1] Funsenchi of Gero Onsen, Gifu Pref. has changed dramatically. It's surrounded with primitive walls now, and all soakers regardless gender and age are required to wear swimsuites. Swimsuites bathing is in transition period now and obligatetory from Feb. 1, 2010 (I think if we have to wear swimsuites, walls aren't necessary). See my post "Funsenchi, Gero Onsen, Gifu Pref." dated Jan.17, 2009.

[2] After the DPJ's landslide victory over LDP at the general election last weekend, future of the Kawarayu Onsen, Gunma Pref. gets unpredictable, as the DPJ has promised to suspend construction of Yamba Dam, which was going to submarge the Kawarayu Onsen.

The Yamba Dam construction plan first made public about 60 years ago. Residents of the Kawarayu Onsen accepted the plan in 2001 after severe opposition activities against it for several decades, and before the recent election, they were supposed to move alternative site "New Kawarayu Onsen" in a few years. See my post "Kawarayu Onsen, Gunma Pref. (1)" dated Jan. 24, 2009.

[3] Added how to go to the Kita Onsen, Tochigi Pref. by public transportation. See my post " Kita Onsen Ryokan, Tochigi Pref." dated Mar. 6, 2009

Old ryokan to reopen as hostel, Ito Onsen, Shizuoka Pref.

Formar Ryokan Inaba under renovation. (photo: Mar. 2009)

A closed down ryokan in Ito Onsen, Sizuoka Pref. will come back as a backpackers' hostel this summer or later.

The Ryokan Inaba (旅館いな葉）, a three-story Japanese inn built in 1920's is the oldest wooden ryokan in Ito City, registered as a national tangible cultural property in 1998. It went out of business in June 2007 due to business aggravation and aging of the employee. (Photo: Sep. 2007)

But it's under renovation right now and will open again under K's House, the biggest backpackers' hostel chain in Japan. Too early to say "Welcome back"?

[Update] The Ryokan Inaba reopened as "K's House Ito Onsen" on August 1st, 2010.

Travel Tips:
Ito Onsen - located upper east coast of Izu Peninsula, is easy to access from Tokyo by train. Direct Express Train "Odoriko" serves between Tokyo and Ito, taking about an hour and 45 minutes. You can walk to Inaba (K's House Izu Ito Onsen) in about 10 minutes from the Ito Railway Station.

Link:
Official website of Ito Shightseeing Association (in English)

Useful words:
Ito Onsen （伊東温泉）
Izu Peninsula （伊豆半島　pronounce as Izu hantoh）
Express Train Odoriko （特急踊り子　tokkyu odoriko）

Funsenchi, Gero Onsen

[update] The Funsenchi hase changed very much since I've written following post. The bath is surrounded with primitive walls, and all soakers regardless gender and age are required to wear swimsuites. Swimsuites bathing is in transition period now and you have to wear them from Feburary 1, 2010. (1 Sep, 2009)


Only five minutes walk from Gero railway station of JR Takayama-line, the Funsenchi （噴泉池）or spouting spring pond, a symbolic open-air bath of Gero onsen lies just beside Masuda river. Although there is no changing room, swim suites allowed for ladies.


Admission free. Needs boldness, not money. Supposed available anytime anyday, but when I visited early morning in March 2008, the tub was almost empty as shown below. There is a basic restroom under the bridge.



Gero onsen is in Gifu Pref, Tokai Region. It takes about an hour and half by express train from Nagoya to Gero.

Useful words:
Gero onsen (Gero hot springs) 下呂温泉
Funsenchi (spouting spring pond) 噴泉池
Msuda River 益田川