Kyoto Uji Hanayashiki Ukifune-en

We booked weeks ahead for a special occasion after seeing the hotel’s social media and Google Maps photos, which made it look amazing. What we found felt nothing like those pictures. After a long day of travel, we were greeted by 2 cockroaches. The concierge experience was okay, and the older gentleman at the front desk was friendly, but he wasn’t helpful. Upstairs, the second floor was disgusting, with mold and stains across the walls and carpet. Our room was dirty too, and nothing like the advertised 2 queen beds and open-air bath balcony. Instead, it was a dingy traditional japanese tatami room with sleeping mats and a tiny, filthy bathroom. None of these units seem to show up on their social media. I live in Japan and have no issue sleeping on tatami, but this wasn’t what was advertised or what we paid for. We decided to leave. For over $1,200 for 4 nights, I expected much better.

We prepaid 6 months ago for our honeymoon, but got no confirmation, address, or check-in details until 10:00 PM on the night we arrived. After we finally found the hotel and asked staff why we’d been left stranded at night in a foreign city, the front desk brushed it off as their “policy” not to send confirmation emails. Withholding basic booking information until almost midnight forced us to pay for a second emergency hotel so we’d have somewhere safe to sleep. For a business serving international travelers, that policy felt dangerous and outrageous. The room was old, neglected, and depressing. The carpet had visible stains, and the lighting was extremely dim and gloomy, likely to hide how unclean and worn the interior was. Calling this silence a “policy” doesn’t excuse the failure of care. Doing this to a couple on their honeymoon is shameful. The property feels like a relic with no concern for guest well-being. If you care about your safety and want a room that doesn’t feel neglected, book elsewhere.

The view from our room was good, which is the only reason this gets more than one star. What a waste of a perfect location. This was the last stop on an otherwise wonderful Japan trip, and we deeply regret choosing it. The pretty photos, ads, and good reviews didn’t match what we experienced. We paid over 120,000 yen for a premium room and a supposedly deluxe seafood and wagyu beef teppanyaki dinner. Reception showed almost no hospitality: nobody escorted us or explained the facilities. The so-called welcome drink was a sad self-service counter with a bottle of juice from concentrate. The hotel was old and poorly kept, with a dirty, stained carpet. The public bath was ugly and poorly equipped. There were hardly any guests around, and the hotel was severely understaffed. The teppanyaki chef looked amateur. The scallop and tiger prawn were dry, tasteless, and like chewing rubber. I don’t know how long they’d been frozen, but it was the worst teppanyaki meal of my life. Breakfast was just as bad. We should have asked for a refund and left when we arrived. In 20 years of visiting Japan, we’ve never experienced such dishonest pricing and management. I hope this was an exception.

The room had robes, hot water for tea, and treats, and the whole stay felt like being at a spa. The onsen, breakfast, rooms, and setting were divine, and I felt peaceful and cared for. Uji Ryokan was the most memorable part of my two weeks in Japan. We loved the river views and watching the birds and cranes. There’s a nature walk and shrines nearby, along with great matcha places the area is known for. It is a bit of a walk to the train station, but that didn’t bother us.