Shima|Mid-Range
Shima Grand Hotel
四万グランドホテル
A 99-room forest hotel with multiple hot-spring baths, buffet dining and a Hello Kitty theme floor.
English OKOnsenPrivate Onsen
from $133 / per night · per person
7.6/10 (2,530)Destination
Shima Onsen is a small, near-pure hot-spring town deep in the Joshinetsu Kogen National Park in Gunma. Its landmark is Sekizenkan — founded in 1691, Japan's oldest surviving wooden bathhouse and a widely cited model for the Spirited Away bathhouse, reached across a red bridge. The town is also known for "Shima Blue," the emerald water of Okushima Lake, and for spring water long counted among Japan's great therapeutic onsen. With around 34 inns, most of them traditional ryokan, it is a compact, photogenic base about three hours from Tokyo.
Looking for hotels in Shima? Compare 11 traditional ryokans and modern onsen hotels — private baths, English-speaking staff, vegetarian kaiseki, and tattoo-friendly options all filterable in one place.
See our editors' top picks for Shima11 ryokans in Shima
四万グランドホテル
A 99-room forest hotel with multiple hot-spring baths, buffet dining and a Hello Kitty theme floor.
from $133 / per night · per person
7.6/10 (2,530)四万やまぐち館
A large riverside ryokan on the Shima River with open-air baths reached through a signature steam corridor.
四万温泉 柏屋旅館
A river-facing ryokan with three free private open-air baths, explicitly tattoo-friendly and English-friendly.
from $228 / per night · per person
9.4/10 (1,240)時わすれの宿 佳元
An eight-room kaiseki ryokan where four rooms have their own private open-air onsen bath.
鍾寿館
A Meiji-era wooden inn for individual travelers, with free private baths and an on-site drinkable spring.
from $232 / per night · per person
9/10 (375)積善館
Founded in 1691 and famed as a model for the Spirited Away bathhouse, Sekizenkan is Japan's oldest surviving wooden onsen ryokan.
from $344 / per night · per person
9.5/10 (311)四万温泉 鹿覗きの湯 つるや
A ten-room inn whose signature "Shikanozoki no Yu" bath blends four source waters above a mountain valley.
from $215 / per night · per person
8/10 (262)湯元 四萬舘
A historic literary inn with seven free private open-air baths and a landmark painted-ceiling bath.
from $130 / per night · per person
8.6/10 (45)四万温泉 豊島屋
A 15-room riverside ryokan pouring 100% free-flowing spring water, with the widest booking coverage in Shima.
from $298 / per night · per person
9.1/10 (34)温泉三昧の宿 四万たむら
A 500-year-old heritage ryokan set in vast forest grounds, drawing on seven of its own hot-spring sources.
from $147 / per night · per person
8/10 (22)湯の宿 山ばと
A seven-room ravine ryokan with free reservable open-air baths and charcoal irori dining.
from $281 / per night · per person
9/10Blog
Curated Collection
5 questions about Shima
