Niseko Ekimae Onsen Kiranoyu

Kiranoyu is the bath the people of Niseko town use. It stands across the road from the JR station, a minute's walk from the platform, and after work the free tatami hall fills with locals stretched out after their soak.

Two bathhouses swap between men and women by date. The Western side pairs a granite outdoor tub with a jacuzzi, and the Japanese side has a rock rotenburo beside a hinoki indoor bath; both have Finnish saunas where you pour water on the stones yourself. The water is a soft simple spring that leaves the ground at 35 to 37°C.

Come here on a train day, or on a night when the mountain roads are a whiteout and you'd sooner stay in the valley. The glass-walled hall looks across at Annupuri. A small private bath books by the hour, which is the easy option for anyone unsure how a tattoo will go down at a public bath.