Spacious indoor bath halls and two riverside outdoor baths fed by Kawaji Hot Spring—known for its waters’ skin healing effects—provide the perfect location to comfortably enjoy the vibrant surrounding scenery, which changes dramatically through the seasons.

Every KAI establishment offers a selection of free activities designed to introduce guests to Japan’s regional cultures. At KAI Kawaji, guests are invited to learn about the creative innovations that the Japanese developed in the past to make life comfortable even in the deepest mountains, such as rotary querns and hibachi braziers.

Soybean flour grinding – guests are invited to use a small rotary quern to grind a variety of soybeans—red and green, small and large—into a flavorful flour called kinako, which is used in Japanese confectionery.

Washi Paper workshop – this workshop involves making paper from unusual materials, such as fall leaves picked from the ryokan courtyard. The final product makes a perfect souvenir.

Water mill tour – this tour introduces guests to the mechanisms of traditional water mills, which were once used in Japan to scoop up water for irrigating rice fields, husking grains, and turning querns, through a rare inside view.