A legitimate open-air hot spring experience is waiting at this urban oasis.

Because there are so many cool things to do in Japan, traveling in the country often forces you to make either/or decisions. For example, soaking in an rotenburo onsen (open-air hot spring bath) is a wonderful, quintessentially Japanese experience, but heading out to the hot springs, most of which are in rural locations, generally means giving up a day of exploring Japan’s dense, exciting metropolises.

But there’s a new option that lets you have it all. The Onsen Ryokan Yuen Shinjuku is a beautiful new hotel which recently opened in Shinjuku, one of the liveliest neighborhoods in downtown Tokyo.

Despite its big-city location, Yuen offers the sophistication and serenity of a traditional Japanese inn. There’s a classically styled sukiyamon-style gate that greets visitors as they arrive at the building, and a garden with plant life evocative of Japan’s distinct seasons. The biggest draw though, is found on the 18th floor, where the hot spring baths, including open-air sections, are located.

And make no mistake, these are legitimate onsen waters that guests bathe in. Yuen goes to the trouble of shipping in natural hot spring water from Hakone, one of Japan’s premier hot spring regions, so that guests can fully enjoy the soul-soothing and skin-smoothing effects of a true onsen bath, all while taking in the view of the biggest city in Japan, either in the light of day or bathed in its distinct neon glow at night, as the baths are open until 2 a.m.

Guestrooms are also a seamless mix of traditional and contemporary Japan, with gentle browns and golds of wood furnishings and tatami reed floor mats contrasting with the blue sky and bright lights outside your windows, as well as spacious mattresses for those who want to bathe Japanese-style, but still sleep Western-style and skip the futon.

Room sizes range from a cozy 12 square meters (129 square feet) up to 51 square meters, and per-traveler prices start at under 10,000 yen (US$93).

▼ Yuen’s restaurant serves dishes including tempura and teppanyaki flat-grilled meats and vegetables.

Located near both Shinjuku Sanchome and Shinjuku-gyoenmae subway stations, Yuen even provides excellent rail access to let you go out and see the rest of Tokyo…provided, of course, that you can manage to will yourself to leave those gorgeous baths.

Hotel information
Onsen Ryokan Yuen Shinjuku / 温泉旅館由縁新宿
Address: Tokyo-to, Shinjuku-ku, Shinjuku 5-3-18
東京都新宿区新宿5丁目3番18号
Website

Source: PR Times
Top image: PR Times
Insert images: PR Times, Onsen Ryokn Yuen Shinjuku (1, 2)
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Follow Casey on Twitter, where Shinjuku and onsen are two of his favorite things in Japan.