Okuno Hosomichi

I stayed there in April and enjoyed every second. The staff, room, and food were all excellent.

The rooms were pretty standard for the price. The standout was the kaiseki dinner, one of the best I’ve had across all the ryokans I’ve visited. The lobster was the freshest I’ve ever eaten.

I chose the inn because its public onsen has a sauna, and I enjoyed my time there and can recommend it. Service was attentive and responsive even before I arrived, and colleagues helped with requests. The hotel shuttle covers short trips around Arima Onsen, but I recommend booking ahead, for example for station transfers. My only disappointment was the parking lot view from my suite. Next time, for a complete mountain retreat feel, I’ll try Arimasansoh Goshobessho or Hotel Harvest Arima Rokuisai. I walked by Hotel Harvest Arima Rokuisai today, and it looked far more elegant than it appears on Google.

The food was so-so. Our family stayed Saturday night in the onsen suite, which was spacious and nice, and we enjoyed the hot springs. But I was very disappointed with the staff. I left my ring on a table when we checked out, and realized it was missing while we were still nearby, on our way to lunch after taking the ropeway up the mountains. We called immediately to ask them to look and drove back, but the ring was gone. I feel the staff were dishonest and basically stole it. Onsen hotels are supposed to carry healing energy, but this place didn’t feel like it had good energy. I wouldn’t recommend it.