Kouyurou Ikawa

The staff worked so hard to help us, and I was genuinely touched by how accommodating they were. Our room was modern, relaxing, and extremely clean. I didn’t notice any cigarette smell, and I saw people disinfecting and keeping everything clean and safe. The public onsens were great, and the private ones were a lovely surprise. I really looked forward to our session. The kaiseki meals were interesting and modern, with chefs bringing in other cuisines to keep things lively. The town is charming, and I’d definitely come back. I’d seen the low-score reviews and was a bit worried, but it seems the place has worked hard to fix the earlier problems. It was also cool to see how much support it had from Japanese guests. My partner and I were the only foreigners, and we felt very comfortable.

The room was spacious, and the bed was comfortable. Staff made check-in painless and were ready to go out of their way if we needed help. The entrance makes a strong first impression, opening into a dark lobby with relaxing instrumental music. Meals felt fair for the room price, though the desserts and coffee disappointed. The price includes 50 minutes in a private onsen, with three different rooms to choose from.

I really didn’t want to have to write this. At check-in, things were confusing with the attendant. If you don’t know Japanese, you may need Google Translate to make sense of the five or more papers they hand you, and to choose dinner and onsen locations at the desk. I love kids, but spending $300+ USD for a ryokan stay and finding more children than adults in the main lobby and lounge raised a few concerns right away. The room initially looked nicely traditional, but it hadn’t been cleaned well. There were stains on the sink, mystery spills on the tatami mats, and water stains on the floors. Dinner was creative and beautifully presented, and the waitress was very kind and spoke great English. The food looked fantastic but tasted very ordinary, maybe a bit worse than local Japanese cuisine. The fried fish was especially overcooked and tough, with soggy breading. I’m all for fun food, but it should taste good too. The coffee was okay and came from a machine, and the dessert was decent but looked store-bought. It was so dark that my travel partner had to use a flashlight to see the coffee machine buttons and options. I can’t really comment on the onsen because our reservation was for 24:10-25:00? That timing was confusing, and it was horrifically late. We had no say in the time, so we didn’t even go to the bathhouse. Even if you’re after a traditional experience as a tourist, I’d look elsewhere. I picked this place because it seemed like a bargain compared with other ryokans, which are usually $1200+ per night. Looking back, I wouldn’t save a bit of money at the cost of this experience. I’ve read comments about big improvements, but it still seems a long way from justifying the price. After reading another person’s review, I’m now sincerely worried there could be bedbugs in our beds. Edit: I changed my rating from one star to two because breakfast and dinner were okay.

I found five bedbugs and woke up with them. The staff, facilities, and dining were all fine, but this was such a disappointment.