悠湯の郷 ゆさ

I was there on a Monday, which made for an incredible deal: I paid about 8,000jpy for one night including dinner and breakfast. Staff are very friendly, although as you can expect English wasn't their strength. Place is cash only! Apart from that rooms are very clean, the Onsen is beautiful with a gorgeous view of Zao-san.

Nice place to stay if you would like try local traditional style ryokan. This place has some special Japanese spirit and harmony. You really will enjoy baths and amazing traditional meals. Staffs are very pleasant, polite, and helpful

Very authentic place with kind stuff and extremely good food! Also onsen was quite and relaxing! Highly recommend!

Surrounded by warehouses and highways, the area of Kurosawa Hot Springs are not really known for healing springs. Yusa apparently is aware of its shortcomings and has since turned to a gourmet-focused experience. I think it's a success! LOCATION ◣ Kurosawa Hot Springs is located between Yamagata city and Kaminoyama city, about 30 minutes from the Yamagata station by an hourly public bus. Yusa is less than 10 minutes walk away from the bus stop. FIRST IMPRESSION ◣ The former government property boasts an airy lobby with some seatings and a small souvenir shop behind the reception. Staff speak very limited English, but are eager to please. ROOM ◣ Room type was not guaranteed for the special rate I booked, but I was given a spacious Japanese room that can sleep five guests. Open view facing Zao mountain. Additional bathroom amenities in the corridor. The futon mattress was on the thin side, however. No light-blocking curtains. PUBLIC BATH ◣ There was no bathtub or shower inside my room and visiting the public bath on the top floor was the only option. The chemical content of the natural spring at Yusa prevents it from advertising it as a "natural hot spring", but the hotel spared no effort to stress its water comes from a natural source. Overall it was a pleasant experience, though there was a slight chlorine odor and the outdoor bath was closed during my visit. DINNER ◣ Like many Japanese hotels, Yusa offers a wide-ranging dinner menu to go with the room plan - unfortunately only available on the Japanese websites. I picked a ten-course meal with shabu shabu, featuring grain-fed pork from a local farm. I also opted for the Yamagata beef sukiyaki add-on for 1800 yen. There was not a single weak spot throughout the meal! The marbled beef was of very high grade; the pork was flavourful; the seasonal sushi was fresh; the appetiser combo put together traditional Japanese pickles and smoked salmon vegetable jelly in a meticulous presentation. More courses came after the appetiser - there was a puff pastry oxtail soup that was as thick as curry. The highly regarded local rice was served with cherry pickles. They even added apple slices on top of the almond pudding to match the red cup. The feast was satisfying - visually, gastronomically and maybe culturally, as I got to sample so much local produce. It's noteworthy that the ten-course shabu shabu was probably the second-most affordable dinner-room plan. There are more indulgent options that include even more elaborate appetizers, abalones or grilled Yamagata beef. BREAKFAST ◣ Everyone who has breakfast included for their stay gets a nine-item, well-plated bento box with all-you-can-eat rice, soup, congee, breads, salad and yogurt. I got to say the congee made with Yamagata rice was most impressive among all. All in all I highly recommend this place for the impressive gourmet experience, decent room and public bath. Its location also makes it a proper base for exploring Yamagata city.

Friendly staff, large rooms, excellent food all that at a reasonable price. The rooms themselves feel a bit old, and the onsen is comparatively small, but all in all it is a good place to stay