Hirayunomori Higaeri Hot Spring — Local services in Takayama

Our family of five visited for three days as we traveled east from Kanazawa back to Tokyo. The lodge is an old, simple, traditional, mountain lodge. This region of Japan is known for its hot springs, or onsens, and most of the lodgings are built around these natural hot springs. There is very little to do other than relax in your room or cabin and visit the onsens. ||||The town is very small and can be walked in an hour or two. There were some nice local restaurants and a visitor center worth visiting (for an hour tops). There is also a nearby park that can be hiked in an hour or two. ||||I think most kids would be bored after just one day. Our kids did better, as this was our rest stop between a few busy weeks of visiting cities, but even they were ready to go after two days.||||Be aware that these are traditional onsens. There are separate facilities for men and women, and all guests are required to enter fully unclothed. This was a bit unsettling for our kids. They would only go in late at night when the the place was empty other than their parents and them. It was fun, as the onsens are indoor/outdoor facilities. You can sit in one of a half dozen naturally formed pools outside while gazing up at the nearby mountains. We visited in early June and it was in the 40's - 60's in town, and there was snow up in the mountains. ||||One of the highlights of our visit was a day trip to the Chubu-Sangaku National Park. It was a 30-40 minute bus ride from town. This is a big sprawling park with a bit of everything. Woods, ponds, flower-filled fields, snowy mountain backdrops, and at least two large tribes of wild monkeys that roam throughout. A great way to spend a day.||||Hirayu can be difficult to get to. We took a train from Kyoto to Kanazawa and then a long bus ride to Takayama before transferring to another bus up into the mountains and ultimately to Hirayu. Leaving, we continued east and took a bus to Matsumoto and then a train to Tokyo.||||This place is difficult to get to and limited in its offerings (especially for families). But like many places so remote, it feels special and unique wants you are there. Be aware of what one can and cannot do while there, as well as how long it takes to get there. If you still decide it is worth the trip, I think you will enjoy...

(Review for the onsen only) Wow, what an incredible place! This was our first time visiting an onsen and I must admit I think we are a bit spoiled now. For me I was a bit nervous because I’d never been to an onsen before and I didn’t want to do something wrong and look like a complete fool in front of everyone. Luckily, I only made a slight mistake that only a couple of people saw… hahaha. ANYWAY! Here are the things that I would find helpful to know:

It is a public bath that separates men and women. They provide you with towels to buy, otherwise you should bring your own towel. There are instructions/guidelines in English as soon as you walk in the women’s room in front of the wall. They provide shampoo and soap, you are welcome to bring additional items. The very front part is like a big sink area with faucets and buckets – I believe this is for washing your FACE, not your body. Oops my bad. Right around the corner from the sink area everything opens up and you have like 3 massive rows of showers where you should wash your body before entering the baths. The baths have a high concentration of calcium carbonate, which is why there are little white stringy things in the water. (I think) There is a clock inside so you can keep track of the time.

After I sorted all this out, I enjoyed the 9 glorious hot baths both inside and outside, pretty much completely to myself. The thing that saved me, though, was the cold water bath inside. If I didn’t take routine stops to cool down in that I would have overheated and not enjoyed the experience.

That was a lot. I found my first onsen experience to be absolutely enjoyable and incredibly relaxing. The people working here are very nice too. We came back...

Booked via their official website.

Positives: it is so close to the bus terminal, walkable within 5 minutes without any slopes room comes with heater, yukata, towels etc, comfy futon pretty big space to roam around inside, little convenience store, shop, resting areas, and a couple of restaurants beautiful outdoor onsen and 2 private baths available to guests (you can just go in whenever you like)

Things to consider: as it is a traditional ryokan, there are no lifts, would want to consider bringing a day bag only amenities in room are toothbrush, kettle, shampoo and body wash. Would recommend you to bring your own onsen dressing room is quite simple, bring along your own products

I stayed in the newly renovated western-Japanese room. As it smelled quite new, the smell of wood was rather strong. The staffs were helpful enough to help me with opening the windows for ventilation but overall it was still a strong smell so I needed to wear a mask to breathe better.

I also opted for the hida beef dinner and breakfast set. The food will be prepared at your table and you'll just have to be there, and the staffs will bring out the fresh ingredients. Do note the hida beef they use aren't like the most exquisite standard (you can definitely find better ones in takayama itself) but it is still a delicious meal (I particularly enjoyed the grilled fish). Breakfast wise was also very filling and delicious. I thought it was worth the money for both meals as I could stay within the same compound. If you'd like Ala carte, there are other restaurants in the ryokan as well. There is free flow water, rice and miso soup...