Sansuikaku — Hotel in Hanamaki

I have found my perfect onsen. It might be farther than I used to go for an Onsen , three hours instead of an hour's travel but after being made to wear a skirt to be able to use my old onsen, this place is worth it. Besides, the food is much much better. ||I might have missed something when I booked on the internet, but I was given a smoking room .I had to leave the window open for a while to clear out the smell. Apart from that, the room was big ,clean , has a bath and a toilet.||When I step out to the corridor,  a Japanese lady introduced herself to me, her name is Mami ,saying she will be looking after my room , putting out my bed ( mattress on the floor the Japanese way ) serving me dinner. I stayed two nights, the first dinner was a bit of a struggle for her as she tried her best to explain what I was eating, it was a Kaiseiki dinner of about 10 courses. She explained every one of them, including each ingredient. The second night was a different story. She had every course written out and explained every thing proficiently.   Bless her heart. I am an old man of 75 and this young lady tried so hard to look after me. I am touched by her efforts ||. I dropped my chopstick once an I can hear quick shuffle of feet, and a new pair of chopsticks was in my hand.||Osawa Onsen Sansuikagu was to my mind,extremely good, not ten out of ten, but a nine point eight out of ten. Some food, grilled fish , was a bit cold when it should have been hot. There is only salt , no pepper on the table for breakfast, but then again the cuisine is Japanese, not European, not some dried scrambled eggs. ||The main outdoor Osawa Onsen was the main feature of the hotel.  There were 4 or five other onsens in the hotel , some more beautiful and exquisite than others but the most famous one, Osawa Onsen,  stood out. It's  a mixed onsen which singles, families, couples , foreigners, young and old can enjoy.. in the nude.  I had a great time..very very impressed .||||Getting there is super easy ( I think.) I go to JR Ticket Office available at many train stations. I got shinkansen train tickets departing from Ueno Station ( to me Ueno station is not as big and less busy than Tokyo Station.)   Yamabiko 59 train , departing 11.42 am. to arrive at  Shin Hanamaki station at 14.41 pm. Once arrived , go to information office and they will tell you to walk outside to free bus stop number 2 . At 3.10 pm. the free bus will come to pick you up to Osawa Onsen. Ask before you get off the bus. It might stop at other onsens along the way. Get also the return ticket , Yamabiko 60. Free bus leaves Osawa at 10.50 a m. Train leaves Shin Hanamaki at 12.20 and arrive at Ueno at 15.18 pm....

Best ryokkan I've stayed at so far. The view from my room is gorgeous, the food from the restaurant in tojiya was delicious (the waitress insisted I order two karaages for 6 pieces but I ordered 1 since in the picture it had 6 peices, the karaage was huge so thank God I ordered 1 only else I would puke it out with the 72 bowls wanko soba noodles I had at azumaya)

The amenities were amazing, there's free unlimited coffee from a ucc machine, the convenience store in tojiya has everything you need, there's vending machine

The room had nice amenities, there's a adjustable temp, japanese styled bathroom with a nice wooden hottub that has a view of the river. Even the shower was wood. The toilet was warm and cozy.

A nice tea set was available tho green tea is the only one that is on a triangular bag, the other tea bags are normal and can be have at the lobby. It was nice to enjoy as you watch the river alternatively enjoy sake or baeren beer. The downside was that I tried asking for a sake cup and pitcher, it seems there is none available as the staff told me to use the glass in the room instead (hence can't enjoy a warm sake)

I tried 3 onsens, my favorite is the osawa no yu, large open bath mixed (only old dudes hang in there tho there's a specific women's hour) a bit too open since I can see the naked men from the bridge when I was roaming around. For the other onsens, not a big fan of the big windows as the get misty and obstruct the view of the mountain.

After the bath you can enjoy some milk from the vending machine or the convenience store at tojiya.

The breakfast was good, it was buffet style with a mix selection of common japanese or western breakfast items (I thought the nato was a dessert when u opened the package I was sad to see the fermented soy beans...)

The accessibility is the main weakpoint of the hotel, tho a free shuttle was available and accessible thru bus 40 mins from shin hanamaki or hanamaki station. Bus and shuttle is infrequent so you can't leave or go as you please making it hard to visit places like hiraizumi and make it back to dinner at the ryokkan without working with the bus schedule.

My favorite part is that the other buildings are all accessible, hence I can explore tojiya which has...

The building is old and traditional and has a lot of character. There was a small shop and a tatami mat room with cushions and low tables to relax in after having a dip. Admission for daytime bathing was 700yen I think? You can borrow a map to navigate the building to find the 3-4 hot spring pools.

1. Osawa no Yu Mixed bathing. This was the NICEST one there, open air, spacious and had a lovely view, but the staff said female customers could not wrap a small modesty towel around them to enter. I thought it was very mean policy which prevents most women from enjoying it. There is apparently a special women only time from 8pm to 9pm, but unless you stay over, that's not convenient at all. They also cancel women only time if there are horseflies around!? Can't help feeling it's a bit anti women. 😢

2)Kawabe no yu. This is an outdoor bath for women only. Yet it didn't feel too much like it was outdoor. It was fairly small, enclosed by three walls and unless you stood up out of the water, there was not much of a view at all. Just the top of some trees. If you stand up you can see a small part of the river, but it's not amazing.

3)Yakushi no Yu. Men and women separate. It's like a herbal?/medicinal? indoor bath. The water was hot! A small simple showering area for two people. No view and it had very high walls. If you like hot baths and you close your eyes and relax, you might enjoy this one.

4. Toyosawa ni Yu. This was on the opposite side of the building. Much newer. Men and women separate. The men's section has windows on two walls, but the women's section only has one wall with windows. A nice changing area, a nice showering area, and although indoor, the hot spring was large and half the windows were fitted with flyscreens so the breeze was able to flow in a bit.

I would like this hot spring to review it's strict ruling for women wanting to enjoy their nicest hot spring pool. Just seems like an unnecessary rule and felt...