KITAYA Ryokan －Cultural Heritage Inn

The owner-manager was so welcoming. We arrived late on our first night, at 21:45, and they still made us a delicious vegetarian meal. Our room was large, with a separate living area and a view of the little garden. I loved staying in this 100-year-old wooden building with traditional tatami and futons. The women’s onsen was small and seemed to date from the 1930s. We were there during the Rugby world cup final, and the quiet mountainside neighborhood was lovely, though it was farther from Yokahama than I’d realized. I didn’t mind making my own bed. In a ryokan in Japan, guests often do that themselves, and it’s not hard. And if the onsen water is cool, as one reviewer mentioned, you can run hot water to warm it in under ten minutes. Keeping the bath hot all the time when no one is using it isn’t always economical or good for the environment.

The booking turned into a costly mess. Agoda charged us $150 for two people through its site, but the confirmation wrongly listed one guest, so the ryokan charged another ¥8,000. They wouldn't waive the cancellation fee, leaving us to stay and pay more than expected. The two-person price was an unjustifiable ¥24,000 for a stay from 4pm to 11am, over $230 USD for one night. We couldn't get a refund, and I wish we hadn't traveled so far from Tokyo for this. The place felt poorly maintained and not at all like an authentic or pleasant ryokan, especially compared with others we’ve stayed at in Japan. Our room was dusty, the tea jar was empty, and a cupboard was full of dead bugs. Breakfast was a small serving of fish, rice, and pickles for ¥800+. There seemed to be just one staff member for the whole property, who also made breakfast. The women's bath was half the size of the men's, and its tub was cold. I had to bail the water out with buckets and refill it. There were broken walls, cobwebs, mold along the tiles, and a tiny shared bathroom down the hall that wasn't up to much. For the price, the service, cleanliness, food, facilities, and late check-in time weren't acceptable. I read the other English Google reviews and think people with bad experiences may simply not have shared them. I wish we'd managed to get a refund.

We couldn't get a refund after booking, and the stay was just okay, especially for what two people paid. There weren't restaurants nearby, and although the place came up on Google under a Cafe listing, we couldn't eat there. It seemed to be staffed by one person, possibly to save on wages. We didn't get fresh towels or made beds the next day, and the tea jar still hadn't been refilled after the previous guest. At night we had to walk a long way to find a ramen shop. If I could, I’d undo the whole stay.

It gives you a nice feel for old Japan, and the staff are really nice. Other guests can get very loud sometimes.