Nihon-no-Ashitaba or Bettei Itsuki? Two Different Ways to Have a Private Onsen in Yufuin
Compare Nihon-no-Ashitaba’s private-use bath circuit with Bettei Itsuki’s in-room hot-spring baths, including room layouts and station transfers.
Checked: September 27, 2026 Both inns use detached buildings and give guests a way to bathe without sharing a tub with strangers. That is where the similarity ends. At Nihon-no-Ashitaba, the baths are part of the grounds and are designated for private use. At Bettei Itsuki, each of its 14 rooms has its own hot-spring bath, with the exact setup depending on the room.
| Nihon-no-Ashitaba | Bettei Itsuki | |
|---|---|---|
| Scale | 13 detached buildings across a 4,500-tsubo property | 13 buildings with 14 rooms |
| Where the private bath is | In the inn’s shared bath areas, used privately | Attached to every guest room |
| Bath choice | Several settings, including a large open-air bath and a bamboo bath | Room-specific indoor, semi-open-air or outdoor layouts |
| Access from Yufuin Station | Pickup is listed by advance reservation; ask whether the timetable still applies to your stay | No hotel shuttle; the inn recommends a taxi and says it provides round-trip taxi tickets for staying guests |
| Best fit | You want to move between different private-use baths | You want a hot-spring bath without leaving your room |
Pick the inn that matches how you plan to use the baths
Nihon-no-Ashitaba suits a stay where the bath areas themselves are part of the plan. The property has 13 detached guest buildings on a large wooded hillside, and its official onsen page describes the baths as private-use throughout. There is a broad open-air bath with a view toward Mount Yufu, a smaller bath tucked beside bamboo, and several differently styled baths in the Showa-era bathing area.
That does not mean every cottage has its own outdoor tub. Room facilities vary; some cottages have a private indoor or outdoor bath, while others do not list a dedicated guest-room bath. Nor does “private-use” mean you can count on a particular bath being free at a chosen moment. The inn does not publish a single advance-booking timetable for every bath, so ask how access works before planning a tight bathing schedule.
Bettei Itsuki is the simpler call if the non-negotiable is a private bath in the room. Its 13 buildings contain 14 differently laid-out rooms, and the inn lists a guest-room hot spring for all of them. That still leaves room-level choices: some baths are indoors, some semi-open-air, and some outdoors. Check the exact room category if you need a particular style rather than just private access.
The last stretch from the station matters
Nihon-no-Ashitaba sits on higher ground away from the busy town center. Its pickup notice lists advance reservations by the day before, with arrival runs between 3 and 5 p.m. and return runs between 9 and 11 a.m. The notice is dated 2022, so confirm the service and times directly before relying on it.
Bettei Itsuki is about a 20-minute walk from Yufuin Station. The official access page recommends a taxi and says round-trip taxi tickets are available for guests. It is not a hotel shuttle; arrange the ride with one of the taxi companies named by the inn.
For guests who do not want to use communal baths at all, Itsuki removes the most uncertainty: the bath is in the room. For anyone who would rather spend an evening trying different bath settings, Ashitaba offers a more varied property to explore. Compare the actual room category and meal plan before comparing totals; a cottage with no private room bath is not the same product as Itsuki’s room with an attached spring bath.
If you are still deciding whether a private bath needs to be in your room, the Yufuin private-onsen ryokan comparison covers a wider set of stays. For train and bus arrivals, use the Yufuin no-car ryokan guide before you book.
Sources and image credits
- [Nihon-no-Ashitaba: rooms](https://www.2hon-no-ashitaba.co.jp/room/room.html), [baths](https://www.2hon-no-ashitaba.co.jp/onsen/onsen.html), [access](https://www.2hon-no-ashitaba.co.jp/access/access.html) and [pickup notice](https://www.2hon-no-ashitaba.co.jp/news/news-3.html). - [Bettei Itsuki: rooms](https://bettei-itsuki.jp/rooms/), [English access page](https://bettei-itsuki.jp/en/access/) and [guest FAQ](https://bettei-itsuki.jp/raku/pdf/qa.pdf). - Images: [Nihon-no-Ashitaba](https://2hon-no-ashitaba.co.jp/onsen/img/showa15.jpg) and [Bettei Itsuki](https://bettei-itsuki.jp/cms/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/4C3A2928.jpg), retained from the original guide.Tags: Yufuin, private onsen, detached ryokan, Nihon-no-Ashitaba, Bettei Itsuki
