Nihon no Ashitaba or Tanokura: Private-Bath Circuit or Bath in Every Room?
Compare Ashitaba’s private-use bath circuit and 13 cottages with Tanokura’s spring bath in every room and lakeside location.
Checked: September 27, 2026
These two inns solve “I want privacy” in opposite ways. At Nihon no Ashitaba, several shared baths are set aside for private use, so your cottage does not have to include its own tub. At Tanokura, the in-room bath is included in all 11 rooms; a private outdoor tub is an extra feature in five of them.
At Ashitaba, pick a cottage and then check its bath
The 13 detached buildings sit across roughly 4,500 tsubo and differ in age, layout and room facilities. Some have an indoor bath, some have a semi-open-air or outdoor tub, and a few do not list a private bath in the room. The inn’s shared bathing circuit includes a large outdoor bath, a smaller bath in the bamboo grove and six differently styled baths in the Shōwa bath area. These are described as private-use facilities.
That arrangement is useful if you do not want to share a tub with other guests but do not need to bathe without leaving your cottage. If you want an in-room bath at any hour, confirm it against the exact cottage name before booking. “Detached” only describes the building, not its bathing setup.
Tanokura keeps the bath close; the outdoor version is room-specific
Every Tanokura room has an indoor hot-spring bath. Five also have a private open-air tub. Guests can use the two public baths—both have indoor and outdoor sections—and these switch between men and women in the morning. The adjacent sister inn adds two more public baths for overnight guests.
Tanokura is about a one-minute walk from Lake Kinrinko. That is a real advantage if you want to see the lake early, then return to your room without arranging a ride. The official access page lists pickup from Yufuin Station, about ten minutes away; ask the inn about the current time and procedure.
Ashitaba is farther from the town’s busy centre and is better treated as a place to stay in for the evening. A station transfer is available by advance arrangement in the inn’s posted notice, but confirm the current schedule directly; do not assume it runs like an on-demand shuttle. Meals are served in the dining building, and the grounds are spread out, so guests who need a step-free route should confirm the specific cottage and path before booking.
If you want to compare other wooded retreats with a room bath in every cottage, see Gettouan or Nihon no Ashitaba. The Kinrinko ryokan guide covers more lake-side choices.
