Okutsusou

川底から湧き上がる温泉「立ち湯」と「鍵湯」を目的に利用しました。「鍵湯」は藩主が鍵をかけてしまうほどの温泉で有名ですが、行ってみると私でも鍵をかけたい、黙って大事にしたいと思える温泉でした。客室数も８室で、そのうち２部屋にはお風呂があるようで、滞在中はどのお風呂も独り占め状態でゆったりと楽しめました。 　行く前は少し高めのお宿かなと感じましたが行ってみると、温泉は期待以上だし、静かでゆったりとした大人のお宿で、お料理も丁寧さが感じられて、お値段も納得できました。　お宿の周りもちょうどよい散歩コースとなっています。 　欲をいうならば、温泉の温度が４２度と高めなので、夏は脱衣所にも飲泉サーバーがあると嬉しいです。 　また本館は登録有形文化財に指定されています。文化財に滞在するのを目的とされている場合は、本館のお部屋のみになるのでご注意ください。私たちが利用したお部屋は、渡り廊下でつながった別棟で、こちらは昭和レトロなシンプルなお部屋でした。文化財にこだわらなければ、吉井川を眺めながらマッサージチェア付きで、お掃除の行き届いたお部屋で快適に過ごせます。

山奥なので雪が心配だったけど無事辿り着けました。 建物の趣とおもてなし良かったです。 湯の底の石の配置も面白かったです。

奥津温泉にある登録有形文化財の旅館。小さな旅館ですが、温泉も食事もよかった。部屋は川沿いで水の音が心地よい。内湯は歴史ある鍵湯と立湯が男女交代制、あと2つの貸切風呂は空いていれば自由に利用できる。鍵湯と立湯は足元湧出の貴重な温泉。浴室の風情も含めて素晴らしい。夕食後は旅館向かいの休憩所ラウンジで、日本酒やワイン、コーヒーなどがフリーでいただけ、いい時間が過ごせました。朝食後も使えるとさらによし。部屋は昔ながらですが過不足なし。棟方志功も宿泊し、版画が館内におかれ、民藝調の落ち着いた雰囲気。奥津温泉は静かで本当にいい温泉てす。

総合評価として大変良い温泉、の一言に尽きる。 接客でマイナスのコメントが見られたが、私の体験した範囲では全**のようなことはなく、名湯にふさわしいおもてなしであった。お風呂のメンテナンスは手間がかかるだろうけれども、スタッフの皆さんの一生懸命が伝わってありがたく堪能した。泊った部屋は「和モダン」であったが、明るいうちに着いたので登録有形文化財の建物はたっぷり堪能できた。平日だったためか、貸切湯も含め全部の湯を独り占めで夕方、深夜、朝早く、チェックアウト前と何度も堪能できた。川底から湧いているという「立湯」、ステンドグラスの美しい「泉の湯」の２つは本当に唯一無二の存在だと感じた。お料理はそれぞれよく考えられていて、量も適量でありがたくいただいた。 必ずまた来たい。

Through extensive research, mainly via Japanese review sites, blogs and articles, I learned that OkutsuSo is - among luxury Onsen (hot springs) Ryokan enthusiasts - among the highest rated properties in all of Japan, particularly as a result of its food and Onsen quality. Being that it would not be much of a detour during our Western Japan road trip, we decided to visit this renowned ryokan located in the Okutsu Onsen area of Okayama Prefecture. For what it's worth, the three most famous Onsen areas in Okayama are Yunogo Onsen, Yubara Onsen and Okutsu Onsen. Having now visited two of the three (Yunogo being the other), they are not as "developed," crowded or action-filled as places like Kinosaki Onsen or Kusatsu Onsen. The three towns in Okayama are far sleepier, which is a plus or minus, depending on what you liked. Given that our main purpose was to find out if OkutsuSo was worthy of "destination ryokan" status, our decision to visit the area was an easy one.... and we came away somewhat confused (as to what the fuss is about) and disappointed. OkutsuSo is located in the heart of Okutsu town and is set along the banks of the Yoshii River. It's a convenient location, but the drawback is in its lack of any semblance of property grounds. No gardens, no pond, nothing. While there are certainly top ryokans that forgo such visual splendor, they generally overcome such a shortcoming by making it up via great food, service, Onsen and rooms. In OkutsuSo's case, it did not deliver in many of those aspects. It's a small, family-owned ryokan that was established in 1927, and the main building (and interior layout and decor) is well preserved in its original form. This is definitely a "traditional" ryokan in the truest sense, which will please guests looking for an authentic Japan experience. It's also very small and intimate - just 8 rooms call OkutsuSo home, with 2 of them being "Hanare" detached Villa-style structures, offering a bit more privacy (including from noise) and space. We stayed in one of the Hanare rooms - ours was named "Seikantei", which is described by the ryokan as a "detached cabin special room with outdoor open-air onsen bath." It had a separate bedroom and living room as well as an Onsen bath on its deck - some rooms don't have Onsens and many only have one main room that is used as both a living room and (by rolling out Futons at night) the bedroom. The room was reasonably spacious, although some of the drawbacks at similar old properties are evident here. This includes the lack of a shower in the room (which is weird, since that means people would jump into the in-room Onsen without cleaning up first, which a is very un-Japanese thing to do), just one sink, and the semi-hallway that runs between the living room and the deck, as well as the entrance foyer, get very cold at night in the winter. The bedroom and living rooms benefit from heaters, but not the hallways that connect the rooms to the bathroom, entrance, toilet as well as t