Our top three picks: Fukiya Ryokan in Yugawara, with onsen baths in some rooms and 3 private baths to book. Atami Yuyado Ichibanchi, with onsen baths in some rooms and 2 private baths to book. Shuzenji Onsen Kikuya Ryokan in Izu, with onsen baths in some rooms and 4 private baths to book.
Genji fireflies come out over clean streams from late May, and three onsen towns near Tokyo hold an evening for them. Yugawara's Hotaru no Utage in Manyo Park ran from 29 May to 7 June in 2026, from 19:30 to 21:00, free; the park raises its own larvae, which local schoolchildren release in March, and wild fireflies live along the Fujiki, Chitose and Shinzaki rivers too. In Atami, about 5,000 larvae are released into the Hatsukawa stream in Atami Baien each March, and the firefly evening ran from 1 to 7 June 2026, from 19:00 to 21:00. Shuzenji's fireflies gather in Akagaeru Park in the onsen town from late May to early June and are best at about 20:00. Fireflies hate light: no flash, torches or phone screens. The 2027 dates are not out yet, so treat these as a guide and ask the inn. For mountain inns through the rest of the summer, see the summer page.
In Miyakami, the part of the Yugawara onsen town where Manyo Park is, about eight minutes by taxi from Yugawara Station. During Hotaru no Utage the park is lit only by low lamps, so take care on the paths after dinner.
Private OnsenSodium-calcium chloride-sulfate spring (alkaline, pH 8.6, hypotonic, high temperature)Couples who want a bath in the room and both meals served there
Private indoor bath in all 20 rooms, most of them hinoki cypress
Seven baths outside the rooms, including two rooftop hinoki tubs
Two minutes from Atami Station. Atami Baien, where the firefly evening is held, is about ten minutes from the station by taxi or 15 minutes by bus; dinner is served from 18:00, so an early sitting leaves time for the 19:00 start.
In Shuzenji Onsen, eight minutes by bus from Shuzenji Station. Akagaeru Park, where the fireflies gather, is in the same onsen town, and the town suggests going at about 20:00, after dinner.
Simple thermal sodium spring, one of Izu's oldest natural sourcesTokyo day-trippers and overnight escapesCouples wanting a atmospheric, unhurried Izu ryokan town experience
The inns were picked by hand. Each is listed because its own website, or the local tourism association, railway or event organiser, publishes the plan, event or season dates this page describes, and we checked that source before listing it. If the top inn cannot be booked through one of our partners, the highest-placed one that can moves to first place. We do not show review scores, which come without a review count, and inns cannot pay to be listed or placed.
Which of these ryokans allow tattoos?
From each inn's own website: Fukiya Ryokan allows tattoos in all baths. We have not confirmed this for the other 2 inns on the page.
Which of these ryokans have an onsen bath in the room?
Some rooms do at Fukiya Ryokan, Atami Yuyado Ichibanchi and Shuzenji Onsen Kikuya Ryokan, according to each inn's own website.
Do I need to reserve the private bath?
For the kashikiri (private, taken-in-turns) bath, you book a time slot at Atami Yuyado Ichibanchi; no booking is needed at Shuzenji Onsen Kikuya Ryokan; you use it when it is free. We have not confirmed this for the other inn on the page.
What are check-in and check-out times at these ryokans?
Check-in is from 15:00 at Fukiya Ryokan. Check-out is by 10:30 at Fukiya Ryokan. These are the times each inn states on its own website. We have not confirmed this for the other 2 inns on the page.
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