Sanso Murata

Sanso Murata is built from old Japanese farmhouses that were dismantled elsewhere, transported and reassembled on a quiet hillside above the Yufuin basin in Oita. The result is a dozen cottages of dark beams and thatch-influenced rooflines, set apart from each other in gardens, with the twin peaks of Mount Yufu rising behind.

Each cottage has its own hot-spring bath, indoors or on a private deck, drawn from Yufuin's abundant thermal water. The interiors mix antique joinery with modern furniture and good lighting, avoiding the museum feeling that relocated buildings can fall into.

The owners also run Tan's Bar, housed in a converted Showa-era cinema, and the small Artegio art museum next door, which gives an evening here more shape than most rural inns manage. Dinner is a kaiseki menu using Bungo beef, Oita seafood and mountain vegetables. Yufuin town, with its craft shops and Lake Kinrin, is a short drive down the hill.