Chikurinin Gunpoen

The garden is pretty, and the building looks distinctive from the outside, but the stay felt far below what we expected for $400-500 a night. Everything seemed at least 30 years old, the place wasn't very clean, and calling it run down would be kind. The hot bath was just a very large tub, nothing like an Onsen or other Japanese bathing experience. Another bath was decent and had a beautiful view, but access was limited to mornings for men. We were four people and kept getting only two towels and pillows. The food was pretty bad, and nobody offered or asked us about drinks. They also wanted to charge an extra $150 a night for our 5 year old to have another mattress on the floor, which we refused. We live in Japan and love Japanese culture, so we understand some things are different. After we chose to stay three nights instead of four, the staff were nice enough not to charge us the full amount.

What stayed with me most was the staff's courtesy. They picked us up from Yoshino Station in a free shuttle bus, and that level of care felt just right for a Japanese-style inn. The inn is near the top of Yoshinoyama, with a fairly challenging uphill walk to observation points and temples. There are also a few souvenir shops and small eateries nearby. This was once a temple, though I couldn't find anything definite about its age. It seems to have been built many centuries ago. You won't find new facilities here, and that isn't really the point. The place has a strong sense of history and old Japan, with a garden and small pond on the grounds. It must be lovely during cherry blossom season. Our room had the basics. Breakfast and dinner were served in big open rooms, though since it wasn't a busy time, each family seemed to have a room to themselves. Dinner was a multi-course meal with sashimi, tempura, chawanmushi, seasonal vegetables, pickles, rice, and some Yamato beef to grill ourselves. Breakfast had the usual things, grilled salmon, rice, miso soup, hijiki, and salad. There are several public baths, but the water is not from an onsen (hotspring). They were welcome after hiking up Yoshinoyama (Mt Yoshino). I don't know if all rooms have one, but ours also had a small private open-air bath just outside. Sitting in the hot water with a beer and the evening view was sublime. It does cost a lot to stay here. If modern accommodation feels more comfortable to you, this probably isn't the place. But if you'd enjoy staying in a very old temple with plenty of history, I think you'd like it as much as I did.

The food was good and filling, but it was strange that I couldn't order a beer with it. The garden wasn't especially impressive for a tourist attraction, and the service felt pretty meh for a ryokan, maybe because they were understaffed. It's a pretty dated ryokan, though the location was good, just five minutes uphill from the bus stop at nakasenbon (450 yen).

A very special old ryokan during cherry blossom time. Getting there is difficult, so be ready to walk after the 10 minute bus ride.