Fumoto Ryokan

The family onsens were a highlight. Having time in a private bath let us properly relax and enjoy the quiet together. Dinner and breakfast were delicious and beautifully prepared. The ryokan is right by the river, and check-in and check-out were efficient and stress-free. Everyone was kind and attentive, especially Ms. Ting Chen (Ting Chen), whose warm, thoughtful service made us feel so welcome. Fumoto Ryokan exceeded our expectations for service, food, comfort, and atmosphere. We loved our stay and will definitely come back. Highly recommended for a memorable, relaxing ryokan visit!

The private onsens were great, with lots of variety between the main building and the annex. The annex baths are more dated, but the standing onsen is unique. The main building baths are modern and lovely. My one issue was privacy in the men's public onsen. There isn’t much foliage, so it’s easy to see into the bath, which felt unnerving. Fumoto is a lovely ryokan in Kurokawa Onsen village. Staff were exceptional from the start, unloading our heavy luggage to the room and parking our car for us. They spoke very good English and were helpful with all our requests. The rooms are older, but spacious, and they’ve done their best to modernize them. I found the futons hard to sleep on, but they provided a mattress and that helped a lot. The food was amazing. Breakfast and dinner changed every day, and we left stuffed each time. I’d fully recommend this ryokan to anyone visiting Kurokawa. Thanks for a wonderful stay.

The room felt just like the traditional ryokan experience we’d pictured, and there were different kinds of onsen baths to choose from. I also want to recognize the staff for their good service. The man at the front desk on duty on 28 Nov spoke good English and replied clearly and promptly to our last-minute shuttle request by email. Miyu, who helped us at dinner, was professional and helpful. She even apologized for a mistake that wasn’t hers and said she didn’t want it to spoil our stay. I hope Fumoto Ryokan appreciates its staff. Our stay through Agoda was pleasant, perhaps because of the service recovery afterward. The information needed for our stay hadn’t been passed along, most importantly that we don’t eat beef, and beef was served as the main dish. It wasn’t the ryokan’s fault, and the beef was already prepared. They said replacing it with another dish would cost extra, which we refused. In the end they waived the replacement cost, which we appreciated, since the ryokan shouldn’t have had to pay for someone else’s mistake. The photo shows just the first appetizers from our dinner course.

The old feel of the traditional rooms added to the charm, but the thin walls and creaky floorboards meant we could hear neighbouring guests coming and going. Staff were super helpful, with a few who spoke English. They parked the car and carried our luggage. An, a sweet young woman, was gentle and patient with us throughout. She served dinner, carefully explained each course, and offered to take pictures whenever she had time. We enjoyed the kaiseki meals during our one-night stay at this lovely ryokan in the heart of Kurokawa, within walking distance of other onsens in town. Dinner was a whole event, with buttery Aka beef from Aso and many other courses and sides. I also got to try basashi and enjoyed it. We were stuffed by the end. Breakfast was a lighter meal with lots of local vegetables. There are several private onsens for guests, available first come, first served. The open-air baths were lovely, and the family baths could fit 4-6 people. The public onsen is also open to guests from other ryokan. The women’s open-air bath is up steep stairs and looks over a bamboo garden. I enjoyed Kurokawa and hope to return to this beautiful town.