Honura Onsen Sun Urashima Yuki no Sato

The view from the 6th floor terrace was amazing 🔥, and both the kaiseki dinner and breakfast were beautifully made 👌🏾. They even keep track of foods you don't like. I usually visit a ryokan with my wife, but this time I went on my own, and the whole stay, from the fun to the onsen, was an absolute delight. Loved it here!

We were honored to meet the owner, who is often around the hotel lobby. The staff were attentive and the service was excellent. The property was very well maintained, and they had complimentary snacks and drinks in the lobby. One of the best places we stayed while traveling in MIE. Highly recommend!

The highlight for us was how attentive the service was. I’ve stayed at quite a few onsen ryokens, some much more expensive per person, but this was the most attentive service I’ve had at one. They valet parked our car, served matcha and sweets while we sat on the sofa during check-in, and pointed out the emergency exits on the way to the room. They explained the room and ryokan in detail, confirmed meal arrangements while we sat on the sofa, and asked our heights so they could bring yukata in the right sizes. The employees serving us stayed with us until checkout and waved us off with red hankies as we drove away. :-) We had booked a room described in the plan as “special room with an open-air hot spring bath（in-room dining）,” and were given the “6th-floor special room with an open-air hot spring bath” on the 6/F. It had a nice balcony, a dining room, and a bath indoors with large windows looking out. I’m not quite sure why it’s called open air, but this seems to be a recent trend for onsen ryokens. The balcony was lovely. We spent a lot of time relaxing on the sofa and watching the sea and birds. The bath was the weakest part of the stay. The water smelled strongly of disinfectant as soon as we went in, which was odd because the big public bath, the dai yokujo, didn’t smell that way. We used the in-room bath very little and went to the public bath twice instead. Even with that underwhelming “open air bath,” it was such a great experience that I’d love to return. Dinner and breakfast were served in the room’s dining space, separated from the bedroom and balcony by paper doors. The staff never felt intrusive while preparing the meals, and we could slide the doors open to see the sea as we ate. The food was great, especially the fresh seafood, prepared to bring out its flavor. My mom can’t eat sashimi, and they kindly arranged tasty alternatives for her. Okami-san also came by during dinner, and we had a nice chat. The amenities were nice too: a capsule coffee machine, loose-leaf sencha, black tea bags, and I think genmai cha in a tea bag, though I didn’t try that one. There were both sweet and savory snacks, which was helpful because my parents can’t have much sugary food for health reasons and often can’t eat the snacks at other ryokens.

A modern luxury Ryokan with wonderful hospitality, a great kaiseki dinner and breakfast, and a lovely view over Toba bay. The ama huts and Toba aquarium/Pearl island are only a short drive away.