Overview
At Ito Kowakien, you can experience the hot spring culture of Ito through fresh spring water, seasonal Japanese dining, and rooms designed for an easy, restful stay. The ryokan draws water from its own source and uses it throughout the property, from the large public baths to the hot water taps in the rooms.
Your stay centres on the free-flowing baths at Kowaki no Yu, where you can move between indoor baths, an open-air bath, and pools kept at different temperatures. You can also try drinking the spring water at the dedicated drinking station before sitting down to a seasonal kaiseki dinner featuring seafood from Izu.
Ito Kowakien is around ten minutes on foot from Minami-Ito Station and approximately ten minutes by car from JR Ito Station. A complimentary pickup service from JR Ito Station makes arrival easier when you travel by train.
Accommodation
You can choose from Japanese rooms, rooms with Western-style beds, top-floor rooms, a Premium Twin with a private hot spring bath, and a dedicated room for stays with a small dog. Every room is non-smoking.
The Premium Twin measures approximately 50 square metres and includes two beds, a private hot spring bath, and a deck. The bath has the open feeling of a semi-open-air setting, allowing you to enjoy the spring water at any time without entering the shared bathing area. After soaking, you can relax on the deck with a book or look up at the evening sky.
The Main Building Japanese Room gives you a classic ten-tatami layout with futon bedding placed on airy mattresses. Its private bathroom also uses hot spring water, so you can enjoy the spring without leaving your room. A toilet with a warm-water washing function adds convenience.
The Japanese Room with Beds combines tatami flooring with two single beds. This ten-tatami room gives you the character of a Japanese stay without requiring you to sleep on a futon. It also includes a private bathroom and toilet.
The top-floor Sui rooms use wood, gentle colours, and clean lines to create a warm setting. You can choose a ten-tatami Japanese room with futons or a ten-tatami twin with beds. The Japanese room gives you more flexibility when travelling together, while the twin suits a quieter stay for two. These rooms include a humidifying air purifier, bath, toilet, samue clothing, and POLA skincare products.
A separate 15-tatami Japanese room is available through the pet-friendly plan. This room is designed for one small indoor dog weighing up to eight kilograms. It has a smaller window and does not include a private bath. A dog circle, food bowl, toilet tray and sheets, waste bin, lint roller, and wet wipes are provided. You need to bring food, vaccination records, a travel cage or crate, and the completed pet-stay agreement.
Room equipment includes a television, empty refrigerator, telephone, electric kettle, tea set, small flashlight, hairdryer, towels, toiletries, slippers, and yukata. You can choose a colourful yukata near reception, while facial sheets for the hot spring pack are also available.
Dining
Dinner brings together seafood, mountain ingredients, and flavours that change with the season. Meals are served at Restaurant Ukifune, where windows face the garden and daylight fills the dining room.
The signature dish is kinmedai simmered in a closely guarded sauce. The whole fish absorbs the rich, sweet-savoury flavour as it cooks, and the sauce pairs especially well with rice. Depending on your dining plan, dinner may also include sashimi, abalone, meat, seafood, seasonal vegetables, and dishes steamed with hot spring water.
Several dinner courses combine individually served kaiseki dishes with a half buffet. The recommended course includes appetisers, sashimi, kinmedai, an abalone dish, and further seasonal selections. The hot spring steamed course brings vegetables and seafood to your table alongside kinmedai and meat, while the limited special course offers a more elaborate menu with a choice of main dish.
Dinner normally begins at either 17:45 or 19:30, and the restaurant closes at 21:00. Ingredients and preparation change with the season and the daily catch, allowing the menu to reflect the best food available during your stay.
Breakfast is a Japanese set meal built around a seafood shabu-shabu hotpot. You cook slices of seasonal fish in a deeply flavoured seafood broth, then add miso to enjoy the remaining soup. Freshly grilled dried horse mackerel and rice cooked in an individual pot complete the main part of the meal.
The breakfast selection also includes small dishes, salad, a soft-cooked egg, pickles, and access to a self-service corner. Here, you may find dishes such as Ito-style oden with black hanpen, tofu hotpot, simmered chicken and vegetables, rice porridge, natto, yoghurt, and a changing daily dish. Breakfast is served from 07:00 to 09:00.
Onsen and Wellness
Kowaki no Yu uses a free-flowing supply from Ito Kowakien’s own spring. The water is a mildly alkaline simple spring with a pH of 8.4. It is clear and gentle, with a smooth feeling that has earned it the name “beauty bath.”
The large bathing area includes indoor pools kept at warmer and milder temperatures, allowing you to choose the heat that feels right or alternate between them. An open-air bath brings in the outside air and seasonal atmosphere of Ito. The two bathing areas switch between men and women at around 00:30, so you can experience both sides during an overnight stay.
Fresh spring water is added after the baths are emptied each day. You can bathe from 14:00 until 10:00 the following morning, with the bathing area closing between 10:00 and 14:00 for cleaning. Final entry is 30 minutes before closing.
General bathing indications for the water include neuralgia, muscle and joint discomfort, stiffness, sensitivity to cold, fatigue, and recovery after illness. The different temperature baths also make it easier to choose a gentle soak when you do not enjoy very hot water.
The drinking station sits near the entrance to the large bath. You can sample a small amount of fresh spring water here, with around one cup recommended. Only drink from the dedicated station or another tap clearly marked as safe for drinking.
You can also use the spring water as part of a facial treatment. Soak the provided sheet in the water and apply it as a simple hot spring face pack. The room washbasins supply hot spring water, allowing you to prepare the treatment in privacy. A reusable bottle designed for filling with the water and using it as a facial mist is available at reception.
Guests with Tattoos
If you have a tattoo, you cannot enter the large public baths or open-air bathing area. You can still enjoy the hot spring in a room with a private bath, including the Premium Twin or another room with hot spring water supplied to its bathroom.
Facilities
The bright lobby features a single African zelkova wood table measuring approximately 6.5 metres long and weighing around one tonne. You can sit beside it with a welcome drink during check-in and choose a colourful yukata for your stay.
Restaurant Ukifune faces the garden and hosts breakfast and dinner. Banquet halls can accommodate organised meals and gatherings, while meeting rooms are available for training sessions, group discussions, and business use.
Manga corners are located in the lobby and the rest area, allowing you to borrow a book and read in your room after bathing. Two karaoke rooms accommodate up to ten people each and open from 14:00 to 22:00. The mahjong room opens from 14:00 until midnight, while table tennis is available from 14:00 to 22:00.
The shop opens from 08:00 to 20:00 and sells sweets, regional products, and souvenirs from Izu. The property also includes accessible features, a designated indoor smoking room, complimentary Wi-Fi, and free outdoor parking.
During summer, the heated outdoor pool provides another place to relax. In 2026, the pool opens from July 18 to August 31, from 09:00 to 17:00, with final entry at 16:00. If you have a tattoo, you can use the pool only when it is completely covered by a rash guard or similar swimwear.
Activities
A short walk takes you to Yonewaka Foot Bath, where you can enjoy another taste of Ito’s hot spring culture. You can also visit Tokaikan, a historic wooden building filled with detailed craftsmanship and the atmosphere of early Showa-era Ito. Public bathing is available there on selected days.
Near Ito Station, the Yunohana shopping street has a route dedicated to the Seven Lucky Gods. You can walk between the statues, pour hot spring water over each one, and explore local shops along the way.
Ito Orange Beach gives you an easy place for a seaside walk, while Ito Marine Town combines shops, restaurants, coastal views, and further bathing facilities. For a longer day out, travel towards Mount Omuro, Lake Ippeki, Izu Kogen, or the cliffs and walking trails of the Jogasaki Coast.
Back at Ito Kowakien, you can play table tennis in your yukata, read manga after your bath, book a karaoke room, or spend a summer afternoon beside the outdoor pool.
Additional Features
A hot spring vending station within the grounds allows you to take Ito Kowakien’s source water home. You can collect between 20 and 200 litres, but you need to bring a suitable container.
Day visits for bathing are available throughout most of the year from 14:00 to 18:00. Access may change on closure dates or during busy periods, and the day-use service does not include a dedicated rest room.
Complimentary outdoor parking is available for approximately 30 vehicles. Large vehicles may require advance confirmation, and dedicated motorcycle parking is not available.
When you arrive at JR Ito Station between 14:00 and 18:00, you can call for complimentary pickup. Advance pickup times cannot be reserved because the vehicle cannot wait at the station. Morning transfers leave Ito Kowakien at 09:10, 09:40, and 10:00.
