Mochizuki Ryokan

We had two amazing nights here. The building looks old-fashioned, and the front is very modest, but every person we met treated us like royalty. We got a really warm welcome, and there were thoughtful little things in the room, like socks and a hair tie. It’s a calm place, and you can soak in a private onsen in the little garden off your room. There are two other onsens, plus a bigger one we didn’t try. Lawson, several izakaya, and Kikuchi park are just a three-minute walk away. The dinners were a real treat. On the first night, they prepared a private Kaiseki meal for us, and every dish tasted amazing. I don’t like some ingredients or sour flavors, but I could tell the food was freshly prepared. The next evening we had traditional shabu shabu, which was tasty and full of flavor. We could choose our dinner time, which was a nice change since ryokan schedules are often less flexible. Most of the staff didn’t speak English, but they still made us feel at home and did their best to explain things and help. I can’t wait to visit this peaceful, soothing place again.