Iruka Onsen Hotel Seiryuusou

We booked at the last minute because we wanted a break from the campervan, and I’m so glad we did. The river and mountain view from our beautiful room was lovely, with lots of nice little details. We had a really good dinner at the restaurant and enjoyed relaxing in the onsen baths. It felt like a little oasis, and we enjoyed every minute.

The restaurants and other facilities we used were good, but one staff member left us with a bad impression. We were leading a large group of students camping near the riverside, and had a room for the teachers. After we used the ground-floor shower, a staff member who seemed like a guard complained that we should finish earlier because he wanted to end his day sooner. His attitude cancelled out the positive parts of the stay, which was disappointing. I thought I should leave a note about it.

Our window looked out over a large field, lots of sakura trees, and the big river. It was stunning. The tatami room was clean, quiet, and spacious, with a sink, fridge, and toilet but no shower. The in-house onsen was also clean and roomy, with indoor and outdoor baths. Soft music played in the car park, and there was free herbal jelly in the fridge. One gentleman at the front desk spoke good English. It’s about a 20-minute drive to Hongu Taisha or Doro Kyo gorge for the boat ride. We booked through Agoda and were surprised at checkout by a 900 yen onsen tax for our three-day stay. It wasn’t much, but no one mentioned it at booking or check-in, which felt odd. Since there’s no shower in the room, guests will almost certainly shower in the onsen, so we didn’t really understand the tax for people staying at the hotel.

The river scenery was a highlight. We drove along Road 311, which overlaps with part of the Kumano Trail, and came across a beige steel bridge over the Kitayama River as we left a tunnel near Kiwacho. The Itaya and Kitayama rivers meet to the north, so we turned left onto the riverside road and found Iruka Onsen Hotel Seiryuusou less than 1 km farther on. We later stopped at a lookout we’d noticed on the way. Even in drizzle, mist rising off the water made the view feel dreamlike. The next morning we went back to where the rivers meet and found more beautiful scenery, though we didn’t manage to catch the sunrise east of Kiwacho. The hotel sits on an outer bend of the Kitayama River and has an elegant, simple feel. The reception was staffed by two middle-aged men, who seemed a little cold but were professional. Our ground-floor room was beside the stairs and had tatami-style beds. It was almost clean enough, though the aging furniture may have been part of the reason it fell a little short. We had a decent dinner at Yamatoya, the only larger restaurant nearby, then enjoyed the hotel onsen. Most of the other people there seemed to be Kumano Kodo backpackers. We returned to the onsen the next morning and had a satisfying breakfast. We ran out of time for several nearby sights, including Doro Kyo Gorge, Nunobuki Falls, Tamakiguchi, and the Megaliths, so we have a reason to return. Hotel Seiryuusou made for a great stay, and we’d recommend it.