Yunokaku Ikedaya

😊

I stayed in February 2020, and the inn is quite far into Kawayu Onsen. The one good thing was that the Kawayu Onsen water flowed directly from the source. Beyond that, this was the worst inn I've experienced despite staying in many places over years of travel. I had arranged a pickup from Kawayu Onsen Station ahead of time, but when I called on arrival day, they said the shuttle was being inspected and told me to take the bus. They didn't cover the fare. The booking site also said the private bath could be used as often as we wanted, but after one visit, further use cost extra. Only about half the building's lights seemed to be on, perhaps to cut costs, and the staff service was at the lowest level. Judging by other guests' comments, it seems things were still this bad four years later. I strongly advise against staying here.

I booked the highest of the three room ranks, Matsu, and even before anything had been provided, they insisted on payment at check-in. That set a bad tone for what became the worst hot spring inn I've stayed in. The building was extremely cold, and when I went to my reserved private open-air bath, every hallway light was off, making the walk feel eerie. The changing area was shockingly dirty. There was a shower room, but it couldn't be used, and I left the hot spring right away after seeing countless bits of what looked like human grime floating in it. I kept hoping the Matsu dinner might make up for things, but it was awful too. The menu shown in advance listed crab and beef sukiyaki. Instead, we got something entirely different from the thick pork soup I had imagined, and there were far fewer dishes. The meal felt like a clear drop in quality, and I was even angrier. If I lived nearby, I would have left without staying. There are plenty more bad things I could write about, but I'll stop here. I posted this to try to spare others from what feels like a scam. Don't go. It's a waste of time and money.

When I stayed in 2010, the dinner portions were so huge I couldn't finish them. Even excellent food loses half its appeal when there's too much, so moderate servings would be better. The water seemed a little acidic, maybe because the place is close to the hot spring. Hokkaido has places without air conditioning, but this one had it, which was a real help during the hot summer. I heard the management has since been taken over by foreign capital.