Adachiya Ryokan

Breakfast and the outdoor public onsen were good, which is why I gave it two stars. The outdoor bath can only be used for one day, though. Dinner was a letdown for what I paid. I’d sent a web form asking whether the standard plan served Western or Japanese food because I prefer Japanese, but never got a reply. Most dishes arrived cold and dry, as if they’d been sitting in the kitchen too long, and the cooking didn’t bring out the ingredients’ flavors. A few robatayaki items were okay. The rooms are very close to the parking lot, so there’s little privacy and it gets noisy.

The meals were good, and you could feel the care the chef put into preparing them. This is the best onsen hotel I’ve stayed at. One of the outdoor public baths was under renovation, so the remaining bath alternated between men and women. Maybe that’s why booking wasn’t too difficult, and the hotel had upgraded its services.

The food was fantastic, and the room was beautiful. The staff looked after us well and could communicate in English. It’s one of the best ryokan we’ve stayed at. There’s no shower in the room, but you can reserve a private onsen instead.

The meals were a highlight from the first course to the last, and the sake pairing was inspiring. We’d been looking forward to the Ise Ebi, but the rest of the food was so tasty that we didn’t care for it all that much in the end. The lounge and lobby were relaxing too, with wine, beer, non-alcoholic drinks, coffee, and tea. The ryokan feels quite modern for a place we’d expected to be an older property focused on its onsen. It seems to have had ongoing refurbishments and attention. Our standard twin room had a very comfortable bed, and the greenery beyond the large windows was lovely and relaxing. We enjoyed the onsen. We visited before the open-air bath was refurbished, when it was mixed. From the women’s area, the path to the mixed bath went through a mixed section with a very shallow part before reaching deeper water, which could be challenging for women outside the women-only hours. I’m glad to hear the open-air bath is being renovated, and hope to come back when it’s finished. One thing to keep in mind: there are only stairs, so expect to go up and down during your stay.