Hakone Suishoen

Hakone is a small Japanese town known for its sulfur-emitting volcanoes, and it’s definitely worth visiting if you’re in Japan. You can take a day trip from Tokyo by bus.

I’ve never experienced a more luxurious hotel. Both the room and the service felt luxurious, and I highly recommend it. I heard renovations are due to start in October, though the hotel is still in perfect shape. I can’t wait to visit again when it reopens.

The private onsen made a huge difference for my family and me, and our toddler loved the peaceful grounds. We stayed in the two-floor marionette room. The kaiseki dinner was delicious, and they had even set up a bed for our toddler, who used it almost as soon as we arrived. Breakfast was delicious too. Yunesson park is a short walk away if the kids want to play in the water. We’d come again.

The meal was exceptional, one of the best we had in Japan, and a real experience. That’s the only reason I’m not giving this one star. If you’re after an amazing dinner, I’d recommend it, but I wouldn’t recommend the hotel for a stay. We were told at arrival that our room was for smokers and might smell. We’re both non-smokers, and switching to a non-smoking room would have cost another 50% of the room price, $150, so we stayed put. The cigarette smell was very strong, and the room felt dated. Staff said they’d bring something to help with the odor, but never came back. The rooms were poor, and the smoke smell made for an unpleasant stay, even though the food partly made up for it.