Home
Tenku Sauna Forest Sauna How to Use the Sauna Sauna Stay
Four Onsen Baths How to Bathe Yamada Onsen & Takayama Village
Day-use Onsen & Lunch Day-use Sauna Day-use Onsen Totonoi Retreat
Dining Rooms Activities Your Stay Access FAQ TOJI.ba JOURNAL Official LINE 日本語 Book Now

Journal

Journal

Saunas, free-flowing hot spring water, and the fire of the irori hearth.
Notes on how to enjoy a trip, from an inn with a spring first opened 700 years ago.

Latest

Latest from the journal

Shinshu meat dishes, eaten at the irori hearth 2026.07.19

MATSUKAWAKAN on meat, rice and dashi. Milky Queen, fermented dashi, and our care for the gibier of Takayama Village.

A rare rice raised on spring water, a fermented dashi drawn from umeboshi, and local gibier taken by hunters. Notes on the ingredients that carry the food at MATSUKAWAKAN.

 The sotoyu walk at Yamada Onsen, enjoyed in yukata 2026.07.19

The etiquette of the sotoyu walk at Yamada Onsen. Oyu and Takinoyu on foot: a bathing journey from MATSUKAWAKAN.

Oyu, one minute on foot from MATSUKAWAKAN, and Takinoyu, thirty seconds away. Walking the public bathhouses rooted in the village — a pleasure particular to Yamada Onsen.

 A private hour at the Tenku Sauna 2025.04.15

A private sauna trip in Nagano. An inn of firelight and stars.

A private sauna, with no strangers in it. The Forest Sauna and its fire, and the private Tenku Sauna above the gorge. One night and two days of settling, in water from a spring first opened 700 years ago.

The journal grows a little at a time.
We will keep writing about how to enjoy the saunas and the onsen, and about the seasons here. We hope you will look forward to it.

Reservation

Reservations and enquiries

Forty minutes by car from Nagano Station, with a free shuttle available.
A night of fire and hot spring water awaits.

Book your stay See day-use plans