Originally Posted by
ZippyK
Freccia - Budgeting around £500 for Noribetsu for the two nights, and we'd both appreciate a ryokan style room, with good dining, and a good Onsen. This is looking ideal,
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ETA: Kashoutei Hanaya indoor bath is free flowing 100% source. This is considered to be of higher quality than adding tap water to the bath to warm or cool it & recirculate which is what most big baths will have. So it can be priced at a bit of a premium as it differentiates a bath from other nearby baths. Source water onsen is also prevalent in Oita prefecture and near Mt. Aso in Kyushu.
You might want to look for a reservable family bath and/or up the budget for an in-room onsen since it is a birthday splurge. Some of the higher end ryokan like Bourou Noguchi (more modern themed) have in-room onsen.
Try running these queries through google translate if a couple's bath (or privacy) is important.
Open air onsen attached to room
https://www.jalan.net/uw/uwp1400/uww1400.do?stayYear=&stayMonth=&stayDay=&dateUndec ided=1&stayCount=1&roomCount=1&adultNum=2&minPrice =0&maxPrice=999999&mealType=&carePribateBath=1&car eOnsen=1&lrgOsnCd=50006&photo=1&kenCd=010000&lrgCd =011100&rootCd=2401&distCd=03&roomCrack=200000&afC d=01&reShFlg=1&mvTabFlg=0&childPriceFlg=0,0,0,0,0& screenId=UWW1402
Reserved onsen available (usually a private one which can be reserved and not attached to room)
https://www.jalan.net/uw/uwp1400/uww1400.do?stayYear=&stayMonth=&stayDay=&dateUndec ided=1&stayCount=1&roomCount=1&adultNum=2&minPrice =0&maxPrice=999999&mealType=&careOnsen=1&careBathR ent=1&lrgOsnCd=50006&photo=1&kenCd=010000&lrgCd=01 1100&rootCd=2401&distCd=03&roomCrack=200000&afCd=0 1&reShFlg=1&mvTabFlg=0&childPriceFlg=0,0,0,0,0&scr eenId=UWW1402
I've day pass onsen hopped through most of the mega-onsen in Noboribetsu. My favorite mega-onsen is Dai-ichi Takimotokan
https://takimotokan.co.jp/en/day_spa/. It is massive and has a lot of different water varieties + configurations like waterfall, outdoors, indoors, rock walking path, etc. They also offer gender segregated outdoor onsen with a bar next to it if you're looking for the (not-usually-permitted) drinking + bathing experience. Do check the details- the bar was certain hours only and maybe cash payment. You can ask your ryokan for an onsen basket/bag to carry towels for onsen hopping if one isn't already in your room.