Motoyu Yamadaya Ryokan

The main house is over 200 years old, and there are three special rooms with their own themes. A young lady, the waka okami young female innkeeper, runs the ryokan, and her husband is the chef, back from working in Ginza, Tokyo. Dinner features selected local foods in season, and it was tasty!

We paid 20,000 yen per person for four people, including drinks, which seemed reasonable. Breakfast was delicious, but dinner was pretty ordinary, if anything. The room had been renovated nicely, while the bath was small, with only two washbasins. The hot spring water tap was off to the side, which was fine. I stayed over the February three-day weekend. I’d come back if they made the dinner menu a bit more creative.

We found Yamadaya Ryokan while looking for somewhere to stay near Fukuroda Falls. My companion was glad to hear the head chef had worked at Mutsugane. A typhoon was forecast for northern Kanto, but the rain seemed to hold off until we reached the inn. After driving unfamiliar roads, we were tired, so we’d booked the Tsukitei Room. It was lovely, with soft lighting and a cozy feel, and we could really relax there. The hot spring water was rich and creamy, the kind you could soak in for ages. Dinner was what we’d hoped for, with a selection of delicious dishes, and the rice from Ibaraki Prefecture was so good it reminded me how glad I am to be Japanese. It was a comfortable, delicious stay and a wonderful first trip to Ibaraki Prefecture. We couldn’t avoid rain on the way home, but thank you for seeing us off.

I had a nice, warming bath and could relax, but the dining area made it hard to have much privacy. There are only three rooms, so it’s generally quiet, yet the partitions between dining groups are simple and the conversations of all three groups seemed to overlap. I could hear the other guests talking rather loudly, which was a little disappointing.