Overview

Hanaakari no Yado Tsuki no Ike welcomes you into the soft glow of Kaminoyama Onsen, where lantern-like lights, gentle music, and warm Yamagata hospitality make your stay feel quietly magical. Step inside and you leave the everyday behind, entering a ryokan filled with flower-inspired lighting, seasonal touches, and a dreamy sense of calm.

You stay in a historic hot spring town at the foot of Zao, close enough to wander to local sights, footbaths, and Kaminoyama Castle, then return to a ryokan that feels intimate and full of character. With only 18 rooms, Tsuki no Ike keeps the mood personal, peaceful, and beautifully unhurried.

Accommodation

Your room gives you a graceful mix of Japanese charm and easy comfort. Tatami, soft lighting, low furniture, and flower-themed room names create a stay that feels poetic without feeling formal. You can choose from rooms with open-air baths, Zao-facing Japanese rooms, or Japanese-style rooms with twin beds or low beds.

For something extra special, choose one of the three rooms with a private open-air bath. These rooms sit on the first floor and include a deck with a free-flowing hot spring bath. You can float Yamagata roses on the water and enjoy a private rose bath, turning your soak into a little scene from a storybook.

The Zao-facing Japanese rooms give you a bright tatami space and futon bedding with high-resilience mattresses. The Japanese-style bed rooms offer twin beds, low beds, or futons depending on the room, making them a lovely choice if you prefer bed-style sleeping while still enjoying a ryokan atmosphere.

Dining

Dinner brings you into the flavors of Yamagata through a seasonal kaiseki meal. Each course highlights the land, the water, and the changing months, so your meal feels tied to the time of year. Spring, summer, autumn, and winter each bring their own menu, giving every visit a different taste of the region.

You can expect a thoughtful balance of traditional Japanese cooking and fresh ideas, with ingredients such as Yamagata beef, Yonezawa beef, fruit, rice, and mountain vegetables. The meal is made to feel joyful, not stiff, with each dish adding a small surprise to the evening.

Breakfast starts gently with a Japanese morning meal built around body-friendly dishes, including clay-pot rice cooked to match your meal time. You may also add local favorites such as Yonezawa beef steak, Yamagata beef steak, Yamagata beef roast beef, ayu, or the ryokan’s popular dadacha bean dish.

Meals are served in Hana Dining, a semi-private dining space, or in private dining rooms with touches of Taisho-romantic style. You can enjoy your meal with privacy, warmth, and a sense of occasion.

Onsen and Wellness

The baths are one of the loveliest parts of your stay. Kaminoyama’s hot spring water feels smooth on the skin and warms you slowly, the kind of warmth that makes your shoulders drop before you even notice.

You can soak in the large public bath, enjoy the hinoki open-air bath where candles glow on the water in the evening, or slip into a sasabune-style solo open-air bath shaped like a bamboo leaf. There is one sasabune bath for men and two for women, giving you a quiet little corner for a longer soak.

The spring is a sodium-calcium chloride sulfate hot spring, with source temperatures listed at 62°C to 68°C. The water is associated with relief for nerve pain, arteriosclerosis, chronic women’s health concerns, and other conditions. Bathing hours for the large public bath are 3:00 PM to midnight, then 5:00 AM to 10:00 AM.

Guests with Tattoos

If you have tattoos, the smoothest option is to book a room with its own open-air hot spring bath, so you can soak in complete privacy. The ryokan does not clearly publish a public-bath tattoo policy on the pages checked, so please confirm before using the shared baths.

Facilities

• Lounge: Settle into softly lit seating, listen to gentle music, and enjoy the ryokan’s quiet, flower-lit mood.
• Free Drink Corner: Enjoy coffee, aroma tea, soft drinks, and other drinks from 6:30 AM to 10:00 PM. Yamagata wine is available from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM.
• Small Library: Borrow books about flowers, food, and travel, then take them back to your room for slow reading time.
• Free Space: Use this area for workshops, sightseeing information, or an easy pause between baths and meals.
• Shop: Browse local gifts and small keepsakes before you leave.
• Parking: Free parking is available behind the ryokan for up to 20 cars.
• Free Wi-Fi: Stay connected throughout the building.

Activities

Kaminoyama Onsen invites you to explore at an easy pace. You can walk to Kaminoyama Castle in about 10 minutes, where history, stone remains, and town views add a little adventure to your stay.

You can also wander in yukata to nearby footbaths, including the footbath by Yakushido across from the ryokan. The area carries a charming hot spring legend: Kaminoyama Onsen is also known as “Tsuruhagi no Yu,” linked to the story of a crane healing its injured leg in the waters.

For a taste of Yamagata beyond the baths, visit Takeda Winery by car, sample local wine, or use the ryokan as a base for Zao scenery, fruit country, and the gentle streets of Kaminoyama.

Additional Features

• 18 rooms
• Rooms with private open-air hot spring baths
• Zao-facing Japanese rooms
• Japanese-style twin and low-bed rooms
• All rooms non-smoking
• Free Wi-Fi throughout the building
• Large public bath
• Hinoki open-air bath
• Sasabune-style solo open-air baths
• Lounge with free drinks
• Yamagata wine service from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM
• Small library
• Shop
• Free parking for 20 cars
• Luggage storage before check-in
• No pet stays
• No day-use bathing
• About 15 minutes on foot from Kaminoyama Onsen Station
• Large public bath hours from 3:00 PM to midnight and 5:00 AM to 10:00 AM