Overview

Stay at Senkyo in Oigami Onsen, a mountain hot spring village in Numata, Gunma. The 20-room ryokan stands across the Katashina River from the main onsen district, surrounded by wooded hills and gardens.

Oigami Onsen takes its name from a local legend. After a battle between the gods of Mount Akagi and Mount Nantai, the injured god of Mount Akagi is said to have discovered the spring and healed in its water. Senkyo continues this connection with natural hot spring baths, Japanese rooms, seasonal cooking, and a setting suited to exploring Oze and Fukiware Falls.

Inside, fresh flowers selected by the proprietress appear throughout the building. You can begin your stay with matcha in the garden-facing lobby, change into a yukata, and enjoy the spring water until the following morning.

Accommodation

Choose from traditional Japanese rooms, top-floor Japanese rooms, three rooms with private open-air hot spring baths, and twin rooms with private semi-open-air hot spring baths renovated in winter 2024.

The standard Japanese rooms measure either ten or 13.5 tatami mats and include a window-side veranda. Futons are prepared on the tatami, giving you plenty of space to sit together during the day. The 13.5-tatami corner rooms have windows on two sides, bringing in more natural light and wider mountain views.

Top-floor Japanese rooms follow the same 13.5-tatami layout and offer a higher outlook across the surrounding landscape. They include a private bathroom and shower toilet.

Three traditional rooms give you a private source-fed open-air bath. One combines a ten-tatami room with a marble bath, while the two larger layouts have adjoining ten- and 12-tatami rooms. One of these has a ceramic bath, and the other has a hinoki cypress bath. The two tatami spaces can also be opened into one large room.

These private open-air baths use free-flowing natural spring water, allowing you to soak at any time while looking toward the mountains or evening sky.

Selected twin rooms were renovated in winter 2024. Each one has two beds, a shower, a washlet toilet, and a private semi-open-air bath filled with natural hot spring water. The baths use a circulation system that automatically replaces water lost when you enter the tub. Some also include tiles made with Kiyoseki, a natural mineral found in Gunma.

The renovated twin rooms welcome you from junior-high-school age. Younger children cannot stay in this room category.

Room facilities differ slightly, but you can expect a television, refrigerator, safe, tea and water area, hair dryer, towels, two yukata, slippers, toiletries, skincare products, and a bathing pouch. Selected renovated rooms also include an air purifier with a humidifying function. DVD players and humidifiers can be borrowed, subject to availability.

Dining

Dinner follows a seasonal Japanese kaiseki format, with ingredients from the Tone and Gunma regions. Local farms supply vegetables, rice, fruit, mushrooms, and other produce throughout the year.

Depending on the season and your chosen plan, dinner may include Joshu beef served as shabu-shabu or stone-grilled steak. Other regional ingredients include highland cabbage and lettuce, Shimonita leeks, konnyaku, maitake mushrooms, shiitake, freshwater fish, apples, blueberries, corn, and locally grown soba.

Each course is prepared to suit the ingredient rather than follow one fixed menu throughout the year. A typical meal may move through appetisers, sashimi, simmered dishes, a hot main course, grilled food, rice, soup, pickles, and dessert.

Meals are served either in one of the individual dining rooms or in the 90-tatami Shoraku dining hall. Your dining location is assigned according to the accommodation plan and occupancy.

Dinner is served from 6:00 p.m., with the final starting time at 6:30 p.m. The dining period continues until 8:30 p.m.

For breakfast, choose between a Japanese and Western meal. The Japanese option lets you select rice or rice porridge. Breakfast begins from 7:30 a.m., with the final starting time at 8:00 a.m.

Food allergies can be accommodated as far as the kitchen and shared preparation environment allow when details are provided in advance. Ingredient changes based only on personal preferences are not available.

A small rice-ball snack is provided later in the evening, giving you something light to enjoy after another bath.

Onsen and Wellness

Senkyo uses an alkaline simple sulfur spring classified as hypotonic and naturally hot. The clear water has a smooth feel against the skin and is associated with relief from neuralgia, frozen shoulder, sensitivity to cold, long-term digestive concerns, fatigue, and haemorrhoids.

Two bathing areas alternate between men and women, allowing you to experience both during your stay.

Sagen-no-Yu has a large indoor bath made with hinoki cypress. The wood adds a gentle fragrance and warm texture to the bathing space, while large windows look toward the nearby mountains. An open-air bath and mist sauna complete this side.

Ugen-no-Yu takes a different approach with an indoor bath made from stone. Its open-air bath brings you closer to the fresh mountain air while retaining the solid, natural feel of the rock-lined bathing area.

Both bath complexes open at 2:00 p.m. and remain available overnight until 10:00 a.m. The men’s and women’s sides change at around 6:30 p.m., with a short closure during the changeover.

Face towels and bath towels are placed in the bathing areas, so you can take a fresh set each time you soak. A relaxation space beside the baths gives you somewhere to sit and cool down before returning to your room.

Senkyo does not have a reservable private bath. For private natural hot spring bathing, choose one of the rooms with its own open-air or semi-open-air bath.

The three traditional open-air room baths use free-flowing spring water. The semi-open-air baths in the renovated twin rooms use circulated natural hot spring water and automatically replace the water that overflows during bathing.

Guests with Tattoos

The shared indoor baths, open-air baths, and mist sauna do not accommodate visible tattoos.

Choose a room with a private open-air or semi-open-air natural hot spring bath when you have tattoos. You can use your room bath freely without entering the communal bathing areas.

There is no separate reservable private onsen, so selecting the correct room category is essential when private hot spring access forms part of your stay.

Facilities

The lobby looks across the Japanese garden and surrounding hills. When you arrive, you can sit beside the large windows and enjoy matcha while settling into the quieter pace of the ryokan.

The Japanese garden changes throughout the year and includes a walking route around the property. The complete path takes around ten minutes, giving you an easy way to enjoy the plants, trees, and mountain air without travelling elsewhere.

The Hanamonogatari shop opens from 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. You can browse local food, regional gifts, incense, and products connected to the fragrances used throughout Senkyo.

Seven individual dining rooms provide private spaces for meals, while the 90-tatami Shoraku hall accommodates larger dinners and gatherings. A lounge and after-bath relaxation area give you additional places to sit between meals and onsen visits.

A colourful yukata selection is available for women. Fresh towels are provided at the public baths, and a small rice-ball snack is prepared for the evening.

Free parking is available for 20 vehicles.

Activities

Fukiware Falls is one of the main attractions near Oigami Onsen. Water flows through a split in the riverbed and drops into the gorge, creating a broad and powerful waterfall surrounded by walking paths and forest.

When you arrive without a car, a complimentary transfer to Fukiware Falls can be arranged through eligible direct accommodation bookings. Operating conditions depend on the day and travel schedule.

The Katashina River runs below Senkyo and forms the landscape of Oigami Gorge. You can enjoy seasonal views of the valley, particularly during the fresh green months and autumn foliage period.

Oze is one of the region’s main hiking destinations. Spring brings skunk-cabbage flowers, while summer introduces yellow alpine lilies across the wetlands. A seasonal hiking bus connects Oigami Onsen with the Hatomachi Pass entrance on selected dates.

Tamahara Highland offers lavender in summer and skiing or snowboarding in winter. Other nearby winter choices include Oze Iwakura, Katashina Kogen, Marunuma Kogen, Kawaba, and Oze Tokura.

Further outings can take you to Numata Park for cherry blossoms, Kichijoji Temple, Tsukiyono Vidro Park for glassmaking, or Mount Sukai for a more demanding mountain walk.

Additional Features

Check-in begins at 2:00 p.m., and check-out is by 11:00 a.m. This gives you a longer stay than the timetable used by many Japanese ryokans.

A complimentary shuttle operates once each day from Jomo-Kogen and Numata stations. The current departure is scheduled for around 2:00 p.m. from Jomo-Kogen Station and 2:20 p.m. from Numata Station. You need to reserve the service by the morning before arrival.

The return shuttle normally leaves Senkyo between 9:50 and 10:00 a.m. It reaches Numata Station at around 10:40 a.m. and Jomo-Kogen Station at around 11:00 a.m. Times can change when railway schedules are updated.

When you arrive by local bus, leave at Oigami Onsen or Shimokaido bus stop and call for collection.

By car, Senkyo is around 18 kilometres from Numata Interchange, with the journey usually taking approximately 20 minutes under normal conditions.