Kurasako Onsen Sakura

I was really disappointed. We drove a long way to stay here, and Hotels.com clearly said the room came with a private onsen. When we arrived, the staff said a water pump had failed and they couldn’t provide onsen water. Their only offer was entry to public onsens nearby, which was completely unrelated to the service we’d booked and totally unacceptable. There was no compensation. I’d believed the place had a good reputation and was credible, but this experience left me with the opposite impression.

We visited at the end of June 2025 and stayed in a cozy cabin that was nice for families. The room had a spacious living area, an attic for sleeping, and you could sleep in the living room too. There was a private outdoor onsen, plus a patio for BBQ; I noticed maple trees beside it and imagine the view would be lovely in autumn. The kitchen was fully equipped with utensils, cutlery, bowls, a small electric oven, a microwave, and a big fridge. There’s also a public hot onsen for campers to use. The camping area is where to go for views, though it isn’t a very big space. The drive is mountainous and mostly one lane, and I don’t think there’s another way to get here besides driving. The front desk person speaks English. I think service closes around 7 pm.

Our cabin had both a private indoor and outdoor onsen, and we loved it. It was our first onsen experience in Japan, but definitely won’t be our last. We tried the public indoor and outdoor baths too, though with small kids we mostly used our private one. The cottage was roomy and modern, with a well-equipped kitchen, and we liked the BBQ set. We’d come back if we return to Kyushu.

The private onsen in the room was pretty nice, and there were lots of cooking items. We had a huge room above the Onsen with more than six futon beds. But what we paid felt very high for this level of comfort. The toilet was outside the room in a very cold space, and the public bath was old and disappointing. The room wasn’t very clean, and a lot of light came in during the morning. It was pretty cold, although the heater worked well. Staff wouldn’t give us the keys until exactly 15.