
From
JapanI can’t say enough good things about this place. It is truly a traditional ryokan stay.
Accommodation - The rooms are spacious, very clean, you get all the amenities you can imagine, it has an onsen and the food is delicious.
Staff - The staff is beyond wonderful - we were greeted by name when we arrived and throughout the stay. And the staff actually put the effort to pronounce my name correctly (not the Japanese version of it). Not everyone speaks English but honestly it doesn’t even matter. I would like to say a big “Thank you” to Shimoda-sama who served us dinner for two nights. She is such a lovely lady and so was the rest of the staff working there from the receptionist to the door attendants who would run to the door when we would arrive. I also think we were the only people in the hotel for the first 2
nights.
Food - The food was delicious and served in a private, big room. It wasn’t cheap though and we had to order it in advance (same day in the morning) because we didn’t pre-book it. There aren’t a lot of options to eat nearby either, being in a quite remote location. There is a restaurant at the temple across the road but it closes at 3 PM.
Location - The location is a bit remote but it’s beautiful, in the woods and across the road from an ancient temple, maybe one of the most beautiful I’ve seen in Japan so far. There is a bus station next to the hotel but the buses don’t come very often - maybe once/hr? The hotel also offered us a free shuttle bus at certain times.
I would recommend to take a walk/ hike to Asuka village from the hotel. We made a day trip out of it because it can take a few hrs but it was all worth it. We saw wild wisteria, walked through rice fields, empty hills filled with flowers and saw wild monkeys in the woods.