Awanoyu Onsen - An outdoor tattoo-friendly hot spring in Nagano, Chubu

If you also want to just do a day-trip, then you need to rent a car or have a very generous friend. The shuttle bus only comes twice, and at very inconvenient times for the hot spring opening hours. I tried that experiment so that you don't have to. The springs themselves are lovely. They very clearly contain sulfur, which made me realize how odd it is that I don't smell any at the hot springs where I live (also volcanic). The milky-white 湯の華 is beautiful. My goodness is it hard to day-trip here, though. My personal suggestion is to stay a night here and then hit up the nearby slopes. That's the best use of time this deep in the mountains.

It’s a hotel with quite a history but it is so well maintained with attention to details (what I love the best). Second, the outdoor onsen is absolutely stunning surrounded by the snow land. The breakfast and dinner were provide with abundance of quality food, it’s very much appreciated that they add local ingredients and house-made into the Kaiseki set. We felt sorry we couldn’t finish. We especially thank Hiroyuki San and Akane San for their kind and professional service. Lastly, the location was very exclusive inside the mountain, so taking the public bus frm Shinshima st. is highly recommended. The mt. road is narrow, and plus if left side driving is unusual to you, it might be a challenge to access this hotel.

Lovely experience and onsen. I went with family and it was our first time visiting an onsen, and the employees were extremely accommodating to us. The scenery around the hotel is mountainous and peaceful. It was a little fancy for our tastes, especially the multi-course dinner that we weren't used to, but the onsen bath was an amazing experience. The outside onsen water was about body temperature, and the inside tubs were warmer. I went in the onsen a few times, at night and during the day, and both times it was beautiful and relaxing to observe the landscape while soaking in the milky water. There was a great ambiance in the hotel, it was very soothing and the futons were comfortable. The breakfast was delicious and they had self-serve coffee after breakfast. We stayed two nights which felt like a little much, and I think one night would have been better.