Onyado Chikurintei

I came back after a few months, which says a lot about how much I enjoyed it. The ryokan is peaceful and beautiful, with a private onsen and a direct connection from the room to Minefuyama garden. That meant we basically had the garden to ourselves before and after it opened to the public. The food was amazing and subtly done, even the plain rice. The staff’s hospitality was outstanding and genuine on both stays. They were welcoming and thoughtful. Before we arrived, they learned I was bringing my aged parents and reached out to offer a higher table setup instead of the low table, which would suit them better.

Because the Shinkansen was down, I had to change my plans at the last minute, but I was still able to stay one night in “Hagaromo”. The service was great from the start. Coming from Funuoka, we took a short taxi ride from the train station, about 5 minutes, and the ryokan covered the fare. On arrival, they showed us the room, laid down a tarp for our luggage, gave us welcome drinks, and toured us around the public baths and sitting areas. The main sitting area has cold coffee, tea, and mini Sapporo. I used the public bath once and had it all to myself. It has one indoor and one outdoor bath, with fluffy towels and rugs. Our room’s private bath was more than enough for us. The food service was great, and I couldn’t finish everything. Our host turned the leftover dinner rice into late night onigiri, which we ate after walking through the garden to see the teamlab exhibit. That night garden experience was a 9/10 for me. I’d never visited a teamlab before, and seeing it outdoors while walking around in a yukata felt so unique. We also tried three drinks at the outdoor bar, and they were the best non-alcoholic drinks we’d ever had. It was wildly hot when we went in September, though. Take a map, because we sort of got lost. We checked out the connecting hotel the next morning before check-out, but didn’t have time to use its baths. If you want a private, luxe but still homey experience, I’d recommend it. One night was just enough for our packed itinerary.

I stayed two nights at this nice onsen hotel in a beautiful scenic area. I had one Japanese dinner and one Italian dinner, and both were good. The restaurant has a big wine cellar. Service was excellent, and some of the staff speak English.

The view from the room and onsen was absolutely stunning, and the food was really yummy and helped us feel immersed in the culture. The staff were so friendly and took great care of us. We don’t speak Japanese, so we used Google translate for most conversations, but communication with the staff was no problem. I’d come here again, 10/10 ☺️