Yumoto Kissho

Around 10:00 p.m. during our stay, we were in the outdoor hot spring when we saw someone hiding behind the rocks outside the bath and pointing a camera toward us. We shouted at him to leave and said we’d call the police, but he didn’t go right away. We called for help, but no staff showed up, so we felt unsafe and went to the indoor bath to get assistance. We told staff shortly afterward. The police weren’t contacted until the next day, after a supervisor got involved. This incident showed us that nighttime security and emergency response around the outdoor baths need to be stronger and clearer. We encourage the hotel to review those arrangements to protect future guests’ safety and privacy.

The best part was the onsen, which is a real hot spring. The hotel itself is old and not very clean, and neither the Japanese buffet dinner nor breakfast tasted good. If you’re driving, there’s a beautiful lake on top of the hill just five minutes from the hotel, so don’t miss it.

The kaiseki dinner was wonderful, made with local ingredients and given a contemporary twist. The onsen was stunning too, with pure thermal water and its accompanying sulfur smell. There are small private baths you can share with your partner, as well as common baths, including a beautiful outdoor spot in the forest. My girlfriend and I booked a western-style suite for two nights at 250€/night, with dinner and breakfast included. It was roomy and full of light, with a beautiful view over the valley. But the furnishings looked very old, probably straight from the 80s, which is unacceptable at this fairly high price. In short, the rooms suck, the onsen is amazing, and dinner is wonderful.

The food was the main letdown. It was average rather than bad, and dinner felt very rushed. A friend staying with us, who isn’t a foodie like me, said the complimentary yonaki soba at 22:00 was so much better that he should’ve eaten half his dinner and had two bowls of soba instead. The food nearly pushed me to give the hotel two stars, but the room and Zhang’s service earned it one more. My wife and I stayed two nights from 2024.11.08, paying around ¥77,000 per night for a top-category room with its own onsen. The room was fantastic, clean, comfortable and huge, and the in-room bath easily fit two people sitting down. It was only about 40°C, though, below the 45°C we prefer. The room amenities were nice, especially the coffee beans, grinder and drip-pour equipment. Service was okay, and waiter Zhang went well above and beyond to handle our requests.