Mikuni Onsen Gourmet Guesthouse Isoya

The crab course was fresh and excellent, and now I understand why this place deserves its reputation as a ryokan. I came with my elderly mother, who wanted good crab, and we picked the “Roman” room with a toilet for her. Its Taisho Roman decor and hanging ceiling lights felt calm and carefully done, as did the dining room. The whole building and our room were spotless, and you could see how much care goes into this family-run inn. The welcome and goodbye were warm and thoughtful too. I’m glad we came, and I’d like to try the food outside crab season and return to this heartwarming place. I did wish there were handrails in the first-floor hallway. Dimmable room lights would also have made the text in the pamphlets easier to read.

The hot spring was good and the room was nice, and the woman who looked after me was generally kind. That’s why I’m so disappointed about the crab. I’d gone for Echizen crab, but the portion seemed much smaller than what I’d reserved. I always order the same size when eating out, so I was let down as soon as it arrived. The taste just wasn’t good to me either. Apart from the boiled crab, all the dishes felt stingy. There were three pieces of calf sashimi, each about half the size of a usual piece. They were so tiny I wondered how they’d even cut them like that. People usually say to eat freshly boiled crab right away, but I had to wait for the customer beside me to finish picking theirs apart. By then mine was cold, and because it was small, it cooled quickly. The crab sashimi didn’t fill me up because the legs were thin, and the flavor felt lacking most of all. I can’t explain why, but this was the first time Echizen crab had ever seemed so unappetizing to me. After the crab the night before, breakfast didn’t taste very good to me either, though maybe the small portion was still acceptable. The place also left me wondering, is this really a guesthouse? It was a disappointing trip, and thinking about it still makes me sad. If you’re planning to eat Echizen crab, do your research first. I’m just really disappointed about the crab.

The hot spring water eased my tiredness, and the inn’s warm hospitality made the trip even better. This was my fourth year in a row coming here for Echizen crab, and I enjoyed a whole meal of it: large boiled crab, crab sashimi, grilled crab, and crab rice. On the way home I picked up seafood and local sake from a local dried goods shop, plus delicious rice from a farmer. I was very happy with this trip full of Fukui specialties. Thanks for the lovely food and welcome.

I’d booked this inn hoping for good crab on a birthday trip for my husband. We planned to bring our 8-month-old, so after making the online booking I called to check. The reservation site didn’t let us select “infants sharing a bed/no futon,” and it didn’t explain age limits or the hostel’s rules. The staff were hard to get a response from on the phone until I explained the situation. They sounded hesitant and asked things like, “Will the baby cry?” and “There have been some issues in the past.” I felt unwelcome. They eventually said it was okay, but the acceptance criteria were unclear, and I couldn’t picture feeling comfortable there, so I canceled while I was still within the cancellation fee window. It’s a shame because I really wanted to try the crab. If you’re traveling with an infant or toddler, I’d check the details ahead of time.