I stayed at Ayu no Sato Hotel in Hitoyoshi, with my parents and sister (and would also recommend the hotel for young couples), for 4 nights and that was not nearly long enough!! Our room had a balcony with a foot spa and a beautiful view of the Kuma river and the Hitoyoshi Castle ruins. There are 2 hot spring bath areas to choose from and each one has a different theme with indoor and outdoor baths of different sizes and temperatures. The breakfast buffet was wonderful with western and japanese choices and we also had dinner at the french restaurant in the hotel, which was fantastic!! Everything was just perfect. The staff were amazing, very helpfull and polite. Even though many of them did not speak english very well there was almost always someone available to translate, and when she was not available, the staff improvised by searching words online and doing everything they could to help. There are also many good restaurants in there area and the shochu factory is just around the corner. If I ever get a chance to visit Japan again I would make sure to book a few nights at Ayu no Sato.