Yunoyama Onsen Kibōsō

An onsen you ride a cable car down to — the Ise Bay panorama of Jijo-no-yu

Kiboso is a long-established inn on a hill south of Yunoyama Onsen, level with the 369-metre Komono-Fuji, its name — “Hope Lodge” — said to have been chosen by the founder in the hopeful post-war years. Its signature is the approach itself: park at the hilltop Sanjokan building, then ride the inn’s own cable car down the slope to the main building and baths. Day visitors walk past the Sanjokan desk straight to the cable car and buy a ¥600 ticket from the machine below. The baths are the rotenburo Jijo-no-yu, with a sweeping view over Ise Bay and the plain toward Yokkaichi and Nagoya, and gender-separated bath halls; the night view as the lights come on across the plain is famous, making the hour before the 19:00 last entry the most popular. The water is Yunoyama’s usual alkaline radium spring, clear and silky. Certified by the Health Ministry as a spa-based health-promotion facility, it also offers a radon hot-air bath, the “Radon Spring” (¥2,000 extra, reservations first), and hosts long-stay guests on therapeutic visits. There are no private baths and closures are irregular, so check before you go. A good plan is to see Yunoyama’s three faces in one day: Aqua Ignis at the valley mouth, Green Hotel for volume of water and Kiboso for the view.

Tips & cautions

- Irregular closures — phone before visiting (059-392-3181). Day bathing 11:00–20:00, last entry 19:00.

- For the night view, arrive just before last entry — check sunset times by season (around 17:00 in winter).

- Day visitors walk past the Sanjokan desk to the cable car; tickets from the machine below (cash).

- The cable car is small and private to the inn — expect a wait when busy.

- No private baths. Tattoo policy unconfirmed — an old inn, so ask in advance.

- The radon hot-air bath is reservation-first and runs 9:00–16:00 — different hours from the onsen.

- Lunch plans must be booked by the day before.

- Walking from the station is a steep climb — take a 5-minute taxi.

Getting there

~5 min by car from Yunoyama-Onsen Station (Kintetsu Yunoyama line), Chigusa 7094-2, Komono, Mie; from the Sanjokan car park take the private cable car to the main building. ~1 h from Nagoya by Kintetsu. ~10 min from Komono IC (Shin-Meishin Expressway); free parking. Tel. 059-392-3181.