Hazu Annex

Hazu Annex occupies a wooded river valley in Shinshiro, and the mountain stream is integral to the experience rather than scenery glimpsed at a distance. Its 14 rooms and Taisho-Roman interiors have a warm, slightly eccentric character, supported by folk-craft furniture and a lobby that opens visually toward the water.

Bathing is the property’s strongest dimension. A garden open-air bath, a cypress-lined bath, and the Houekisen bath provide different settings, with natural spring water central to the experience. The river and surrounding greenery give those baths a sense of place that a larger, enclosed bathing complex would struggle to match.

The kitchen serves creative Japanese dishes built around local ingredients and seasonal change. Hazu Annex is best suited to travelers who prize landscape, bathing, and an older interior mood over immaculate contemporary minimalism.