Tsuru no Yu
At the foot of Mt Nyuto, lies Nyuto Onsen Village (Nyuto meaning “nipple”, named after the shape of Mt Nyuto’s summit). Mt Nyuto is part of Akita’s region of Towada Hachimantai National Park, which encapsulates parts of Akita, Aomori and Iwate Prefectures.
*fun fact: the mountain is located on the edge of Iwate & Akita prefectures, and in Iwate it is known as Mt Eboshi
The onsen village itself lies nestled in a beech forest, where there are several secluded onsen ryokans to stay at; Tsuru no yu, Tae no yu, Ganba, Ogama, Magoroku, Kuroyu, and Kyukamura, with 10 different types of hot springs to enjoy between them.
Out of the seven, Tsuru no Yu is the oldest at over 300 years old and has taken care to retain their atmosphere of a traditional mountain inn. The oldest remaining building on the property is the Honjin, which was constructed around 1860.
Reminiscent of Aoni Onsen in Aomori Prefecture, staying at Tsuru no Yu is an experience in itself, a step back in time to a different world, a place where time slows and one can just be. Similar to Aoni Onsen, visiting in winter is entirely doable but does require some organisation. Driving is a popular choice especially in Autumn and the other seasons, however for winter we didn’t want to deal with potentially getting stuck in snow, dealing with sleet and getting snow tires
There is no email to reach Tsuru no Yu, so if one is coming via public transport, once you arrive at JR Tazawako Station, you must call to tell them what time bus you will be catching to Alpa Komakusa bus stop, and they will come pick you up. The bus comes every hour. You can find more info here.
TSURU NO YU
Tsuru no Yu is utterly enchanting, a magical winter wonderland with thick caps of snow covering the traditional Tohoku style architecture; the wooden engraved pillars greeting you as you walk through the path between the Honjin building and Ni-Honjin, to reach a little bridge which crosses over the river to lead you to the delightfully milky blue-white onsen baths.
THE FAMED ROTEMBURO
The most famous onsen bath of Tsuru no Yu lies just over the bridge (and in fact parts of it are visible from the bridge) and is wonderfully picturesque in the snow. An open-air rotemburo with a small wooden roof sitting area, the waters are that shade of bright pastel turquoise-blue which you would have coloured water as with pencils when you were a child.
This bath is mixed gender ie a konyoku onsen, however the ladies entrance provides some privacy as you glide into the onsen from a corridor of onsen water, so your lower body is essentially covered as soon as you step into the bath. The men’s entrance is pretty much all out in the open, however most will probably cover their private parts with a small towel as they stride out… I say most, because my husband definitely didnt’t, happily strode out naked as the day he was born! haha!
The great thing about this mixed onsen bath, is because the water is quite a strong milky pale blue, it provides effective camouflage for everyone’s privacy in the onsen. One does not see any private parts as long as you remain immersed in the onsen waters. Of course when men leave, because they have no cover, there will be a bit of a show but for women you can leave discreetly via the corridor of onsen water.
NIGHT VIEWS
It’s pretty magical! we didn’t bother with a night time soak, as we just wanted to curl up in our futons, but it seems it’s not as busy at night, since people are just relaxing in their rooms.
For those who aren’t comfortable with the mixed gender bath, there are separate gender baths, the male ones have no outdoor onsen since men generally are more comfortable to use the mix gender one; for females there is a gorgeous outdoor onsen bath made of Hinoki available and a couple smaller indoor ones.
There is a reservable private onsen bath in one of the buildings - however it’s indoor rather than outdoor.
THE FEMALE OUTDOOR ONSEN
This beautiful outdoor bath, is decently sized and is surrounded by warm hinoki wood, whilst like the main outdoor bath, the floor is lined with thousands of smooth pebbles.
There is also a small inside bath, with simple bars of soap where you can give yourself a pre-wash.
Only one of the small indoor baths in the newer building has basic shampoo & conditioner, so if you’re picky about your hair products - bring small sample sachets of your own.
A FERTILITY SHRINE?
Also in the female outdoor bath, is a small fertility shrine, you can see in the wooden little hut, there are some wooden carvings of phalluses and by the small little outdoor rotemburo is a larger wooden phallus carving - not covered by snow anymore.
I’m guessing perhaps the waters are said to be of aid to reproductive issues?
Depending on the accommodation you choose, your meals will be served either in your “villa” or in a communal area. For those with ‘Honjin villas’, a traditional irori awaits you in your rooms for your dinner to be cooked. Whilst if you choose to stay in the simple tatami rooms of NiHonjin building (which is where we stayed) you will cross over to eat in a separate area, where your dinner is also cooked on irori.
There are two communal areas depending which buildings of Tsuru no Yu you stay in, and the staff will inform you which place you will eat. The food is deliciously local, hearty Akita mountain fare, with lots of mountain vegetables, a mountain yam nabe which is so warming in the cold and the grilled ayu (sweet fish) both slow cooked over the irori.
HONJIN #6 & #7
These two areas were set aside for our meals, for anyone staying in the NiHonjin building - how sweet is it?! One of our dinners they sat us by the irori hearth - which was a lovely experience, and easy access to the mountain nabe for refills haha!
There is another communal eating area for one of the newer buildings, where the check in/out office is located
DELICIOUS MOUNTAIN SOBA
Depending on your travel times, you may arrive at that odd time where you haven’t had lunch because you’ve been trying to reach Tsuru no Yu. Luckily they are happy to make a simple, but hearty hot soba noodle lunch for you. Udon is also available!
A SIMPLE JAPANESE BREAKFAST
For both breakfast and dinner, there is a set eating period of 7-8.30am and if memory serves me 6 - 7.30pm for dinner. Breakfast is a very simple but delicious fare, of mountain vegetables, Akita’s famous smoked radish (iburigakko - so good!) and a miso soup chock full of ingredients.
MOUNTAIN NABE
Hearty, so yummy and deliciously warming in the cold winter snow. This gentleman who jovially shows you to your spot on the tatami, is a delight as he inquires about your day, chats with you and serves you your delicious food. Generally he will always serve you your first bowl of nabe, but enthusiastically encourages you to independently get refills if you’re still hungry.
OUR SWEET LITTLE ROOM
We decided to just enjoy the simplicity of their classic tatami room with shared bathrooms, as it was the start of our onsen ryokan trip in Tohoku, so each subsequent ryokan stay was slightly more upgraded so that our last couple nights was for full-on relaxing. Tsuru no Yu does have some rooms/villas which have their own bathrooms, if that is important to you.
YAMANOYADO
If having your own private bathroom ensuite is really imperative to you, Tsuru no Yu has a newer sister building about 1km down the road - Yamanoyado where all rooms have baths (not onsen water) and toilets. Their onsens draw their waters from the same source of Tsuru no Yu and are separated by gender, whilst their smaller outdoor onsen baths can be reserved for private use. A shuttle bus between the two is also available between the two properties if you want to enjoy Tsuru no Yu’s famous bath.
Day trippers are allowed at Tsuru no Yu between 1000 - 1500 (pretty much the hours when people would check out and check in), and there is also a special onsen pass available if you wish to try all the famous onsen baths of the 7 onsen ryokans in the area. Day trip hours differ slightly between them all, and some will close to day-trippers in winter. Yamanoyado doesn’t seem to allow day trips.
MY PERSONAL THOUGHTS
FOOD
What I love about staying at places like Tsuru no Yu or Aoni Onsen is the simplicity but pure heartiness of the meals. It’s truly like a local, almost home cooked experience. The meals are simple but tasty, comprised of seasonal mountain vegetables like mountain yams, mushrooms and mountain greens. Tsuru no Yu’s slow cooked nabe over the irori hearth is particularly tasty, very filling and substitutes in place of the traditional miso soup. One is also welcome to refills of the nabe and rice if you need that little bit extra. Since we spent multiple nights, our meals also changed slightly which was nice to see, as sometimes in these places where most people only stay one night, there isn’t always variation. The first night we had Ayu grilled with rock salt, the second night with a miso sauce, and some of the other dishes also changed.
Though lunch isn’t included in the price, you can order some local hot soba noodles or udon to enjoy, we brought fresh fruit and some snacks with us, so we ate that for our second lunch.
*disclaimer: I have a large appetite and my husband even more so, so what we find an ‘ok/decent’ amount of food, is normally too much for the majority.
ONSEN
Magical! My favourite is always an outdoor rock rotemburo, and Tsuru no Yu’s is just lovely, sitting between the changing rooms and the buildings of the gender separated baths, the pale blue waters are wonderfully hot, perfect to warm you up in the chill of winter snow. The female outdoor bath is also a very nice size, and I did have a bit of a laugh to see a fertility shrine nearby with carved wooden penises. The female bath is outlined in hinoki wood, whilst the mixed gender bath is rock. However what’s interesting for both and what I wasn’t expecting, is that the bottom of both onsen baths are actually smooth pebbles! Took me a little bit of getting used too, for placing my feet as I’ve been used to the smooth rock/wooden floors of onsen baths.
ROOM AMBIANCE
We stayed in Building #2 (Ni Honjin) where the rooms are simple and traditional style (also the cheapest ones I believe), cozy for two people, and perfect to just cuddle up, relax, read some books and chill. The toilets are shared, and can be found in the corridor or downstairs. We were on the second floor, where it was nice to just look out the windows and see the snow. However our view was the other buildings, whilst I believe on the other side you do get a bit more of nature. Like Aoni you set up your futons yourself, which is always fun.
One thing I must say, was that their heater even on the lowest setting is extremely powerful! so you have no fear of feeling cold.
VENUE AMBIANCE
Modern and minimalistic is not the vibe of Tsuru no Yu. It’s rustic, it’s earthy, it’s charming, however for those who need all creature comforts, it may not be for you. It’s slightly more modern than Aoni onsen, as electricity is used throughout the whole premises and there is wifi available (though weak). You would really enjoy a stay here if you love experiencing a more traditional Japanese atmosphere, as though you’ve travelled through time to another era.
SURROUNDING AREA
The surrounding area is very popular for sightseeing especially in Autumn for the Koyo, and if you have a car its very accessible to visit the other onsen ryokans to try their baths, or even drive down to Lake Tazawako. However the intimate area of Tsuru no Yu is very sweet, and perfect to just chill for a night or two with a book to read, snooze, walk along their little river etc
Views of Takimikan at night, on the return from Ginzan Onsen Town
TSURU NO YU FACTS (at time of stay)
COST: generally ranges from 10000JPY+ per person per night (there’s an extra 1100JPY heating fee in winter)
MEALS INCLUDED: Breakfast & Dinner
CHECK IN/CHECK OUT TIME: 1500 / 1100
PAYMENT: cash & credit card accepted
ROOMS: not too sure - above 20 - maybe around 40?
ENGLISH SPEAKING STAFF: not really
WEBSITE: TSURU NO YU
IG: n.a but there is one for the whole of Nyuto Onsen: @nyutoonsen_akita
