Originally Posted by KI-NRT

Sorry for being tardy on the actual reviews - still have quite a few to post here, including Satonoyu. I'd say - as you correctly surmised from seeing the videos - that Onyado Kawasemi has an incredibly refined cuisine. Accommodation wise - although Satonoyu's top room (the stand-alone villa) isn't as awe-inspiring as the special rooms in some other properties, I would probably take it over Kawasemi if an in-room onsen is a priority for you. I actually don't recall the public or rental baths at Kawasemi, but there's no way it would compare to Shinpeki rental onsen at Satonoyu. The real question is which is more important - food or Onsen.

The one possible wildcard, depending on when you're going.... Atamiso has been closed since February due to some fixes they're making to the plumbing of their onsen system. However, from talking with the proprietress of the nearby Auberge Suzukane, she said that Atamiso is undergoing extensive renovations at the same time. As mentioned in my original post, Atamiso technically has 11 rooms but only accepts 2 groups of guests per night. There are rumors they will redo the rooms and make the (bookable) rooms far more spacious and grand. I've tried calling Atamiso for clarification but have not yet been successful in chasing them down. If the rumors are to be believed, this ought to shoot towards the top (if not the very top) of your list of places to stay.