Furuya Ryokan

Reina made my first ryokan stay a great experience. She patiently showed me around Furuya Ryokan, explained how the room worked and walked me through the traditions, even though I don't speak Japanese and we had a language barrier. She was also going to serve dinner and breakfast in my room, which surprised me because I hadn't realized meals were included when I booked. I booked mainly for the location and the private onsen, without really knowing what a ryokan stay involved. The room was spacious, clean, and comfortable, and the onsen was amazing after traveling. The beach is just a few minutes away on foot, with shops and restaurants all around. I don't eat fish, but I hadn't let them know ahead of time. Reina brought out a lovely traditional multi-course dinner made with care, and I felt bad that I couldn't eat much. When I explained, she went out of her way to fix it, even after I told her not to worry. She came back a little later with a whole new meal featuring wagyu steak instead of seafood. I was honestly blown away by how kind she was and how much effort she made to ensure I was happy. They really care about making your stay special. I'd highly recommend staying here, just be sure to tell them about dietary restrictions in advance.

The traditional-style rooms were extremely well kept, and the food was amazing. Best hospitality experience I've ever had.

The ryokan is about a 15-minute walk downhill from Atami station, and around five minutes on foot from the beach and Atami Ginza street. Handy for the beach, but getting there with luggage is a challenge: it's about 1 km from the station on a bumpy, narrow sidewalk, and the uphill walk back is especially rough. The hotel offered to call us a cab, though we didn't think we needed one. Maybe storing bigger bags at the station would make sense for a one-night stay like ours. It might be less of an issue for a longer visit. Inside, the room was luxurious and the service was amazing, with lots of attention to detail. They brought us an English newspaper in the morning, gave detailed explanations of the food in multiple languages, and somehow made our shoes disappear when we arrived and reappear when we wanted to go out. A special shout-out to our room attendant Mari. She patiently explained every dish in every course and answered all our questions, even though we couldn't speak Japanese. She greeted us in Mandarin in the morning, the language we were speaking to each other, and seemed to have spent time overnight looking up English words so she could explain breakfast more smoothly. Really appreciated Mari's dedication.

The food service was wonderful, and we had a partial ocean view from the room. The food itself is why we're giving three stars. At that price, it should be fantastic.