Nakaya Ryokan

The landlady, head landlady and owner were all lovely. Their good reviews make sense. The bath runs hot, around 43-45°C, but if you prefer lukewarm water you can add some from the shower. I borrowed geta to visit the nearby foot bath, and their clacking sound suited the old hot spring town perfectly. It even made me sing along to the lyrics, "The sound of my geta sandals clattering is perfect, and he's coming!" I stayed one weekday night in January. I booked the breakfast-only plan because I wanted to try their famous disk gyoza for dinner. In hindsight, I should've chosen the plan with both meals. Breakfast was delicious, and I went back for more rice. Hot miso soup and freshly cooked white rice really are the best. The breakfast at the inn where I stayed the night before had been disappointing. Honshu has such great hot springs. I wonder why Hokkaido doesn't have hot spring towns with this kind of atmosphere.

Dinner was served at 6:00 or 6:30 pm, and breakfast at 7:30 or 8:00 am. There were three main dishes, three sides and enough rice for two bowls at dinner. Even I, a big eater, was full. Breakfast was great too, with a proper piece of grilled fish rather than the usual small fillet. For two meals, it was under ¥10,000 per person, excellent value. The inn is about two and a half hours from Tokyo Station, and there are plenty of Iizaka Line trains. I'd like to stay here regularly. We spent two nights on the standard plan starting January 20, 2026, during one of the strongest and longest cold waves in years. Travel along the Sea of Japan coast and in Tohoku was disrupted, but we reached Iizaka Onsen without getting caught in it. The area seems to have these disruptions often lately. Guest rooms are all on the second floor and only accessible by stairs. Our eight-tatami Japanese-style room had a TV, Wi-Fi, USB charging point, fridge with freezer, thermos kettle and cold-water kettle. There was a tanzen kimono, yukata, bath towel and towel. They changed the futon for the second night the next day. The wall to the next room seemed thin, though it wasn't being used for guests, just meals for two or more. We didn't notice noise problems, but the sliding entrance door made some noise. Buildings on both sides mean there's no need to worry. Men's and women's toilets are separate and have washlets. The sink is shared, with paper towels and cups. Toothbrushes, razors and a hair dryer are available. Smoking ashtrays are outside by the entrance. I thought it'd be cold with snow falling, but the inn blocked the wind and the hot springs probably helped, so it wasn't too bad. They said it was fine to unlock the door after the 9:30 pm lockup. There are no vending machines. The men's and women's baths are separate and on the first floor, open until 11 pm and again from 5:00 to 9:30 am. The water is naturally free-flowing, clear and odorless, and felt just over 42°C with the outside temperature at 2°C. It was comfortable. Water spills from under the tub and runs into a floor drain. The tub fits about two people. With only four operating guest rooms, you may get the bath to yourself if there aren't many guests of your gender. There are two showers with faucets, plus body soap, shampoo and conditioner. Water pressure was a little weak but fine. The changing room has shower caps, cotton swabs, razors and hair dryers, and everything was clean with no hair around. For multi-night stays the bath is refilled, so it can be used after noon, but they kindly let me use it as it was. It was snowing and I was thinking of visiting Lake Sabayu, just a 1-2 minute walk away, so I appreciated that. As a side note, the fruit and vegetable shop, apparently selling B-grade produce, on the first floor of Iizaka Onsen Station has closed. The supermarket at Fukushima Station has also closed. As someone who likes local supermarkets, I'm sad about both 😔.

I stayed for one night. The room was really clean, and they served plenty of food at both dinner and breakfast. The fish and vegetables from Fukushima were delicious. The bath uses water directly from the hot spring source, and it was on the hot side.

The food was decent, though the positive reviews had made me expect a little more. My room was clean, but I found hair gathered at the bottom of the bath and wondered if it had been cleaned. I was the first person to use it that day. The fan in the changing room also had dust on it and could use a cleaning. I think women tend to notice those things.