All of my expectations were blown away. This hotspring ryokan is absolutely beautiful, my room is clean, spacious and has great vibe of Japanese culture. The property has 3 different hotspring baths, including a private bath and an outdoor bath which allow you to enjoy the hot springs anyway you want. Both dinner and breakfast are included, the dinner is especially luxurious with a traditional Kaiseki course meal served with fresh seasonal ingredients. This place is also very convenient to access as it is close to the bus station. Overall, the experience was absolutely amazing, I highly recommend anyone to give it a try.

Great place for runaway from the city. Quite long way from Tokyo (+3h) but there is an express train from Ueno (book in advance) and bus adjusted to train timetable from Nakanojo Station (Shima Onsen line). Outdoor bath in the room was superb, just what you need at late autumn to relax. We also booked private bath room outside and it was good, but if you have bath in your room you can not bother booking private one (quite similar experience). Also loved spa Mori No Yu (just exciting) and Genroku No Yu (also great but different in impression). We had our kaiseki in separate room and we loved every step of it. It was our first time experience, so lots of learning and excitement. Also, before check-in we hiked to lake (water reservoir) nearby and that was quite picturesque walk in the autumn.

The staff was wonderful and made sure we were comfortable. The room we booked, Nami, was spacious and had it's own private open air in-room onsen. We did not use the public hot springs, but the one in our room was wonderful and it overlooked the trees and mountains. We did half board (6-8 course dinner and light breakfast in the morning), the food was delicious and you can tell it was made with a lot of care. It is a little out of the way, but if you are able to, I would recommend making it to this onsen.

The beds were a little hard but having stayed at a couple of different places before here, that seems to be the theme. It is a little out of the way but that is nothing the hotel can do about that. But we did take a train to get there and there is a local bus that will take you to the hot spring but we ended up taking a cab which can be between 8000-9000yen (2024).

The food we had during our stay was beyond my expectations. I can be picky sometimes so I thought there would be a couple things I wouldn't eat but I devoured it all. Every single dish was so delicious and I still think about my meals there. We stayed in the kashotei and our room was clean and spacious. We were also given a yukata and a set of pajamas, along with baskets and towels for the onsen. I was glad to have different options. Since we stayed in the kashotei, we were allowed access to a lounge in the sanso. We definitely took advantage of the free ice cream but they also had coffee, tea, and cookies stocked up. Staff were extremely helpful and friendly. The waters were healing and I loved being able to soak in the outdoor onsen in the rain. It was magical.

Sometimes it was hard to find our way around but it wasn't too bad since we were given a map.

Everything. This area is a general onsen area with hotspring hotels everywhere. This onsen is one of the oldest with historical stamps all over. It's a great onsen to book on its own, but you kinda have to know a little about Miyazaki movies, and you'll appreciate a lot more. It's like a dream come true that we walked through THE red bridge that inspired the animation film Spirited Away. Very magical. The outdoor tubs are amazing. The rooms are huge. We booked with dinner and breakfast included, which was a bonus to experience traditional Japanese cuisines. My daughter was not thrilled to eat fish in the morning, but it was so delicious, and the presentation just made you want to eat them. Overall, this experience was a dream come true for us. The little town you can easily walk around and experience the country side if you are tired o shopping all day in Tokyo. It's just 3hrs away.

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AMAZING. If I could, I'd stay there at least once a week every month :") no wonder it was one of the references for the movie Spirited Away. The staff is really kind and understand English kinda well, even though the place is huge, they give you a map to find your room and how to find yourself in the complex building. We stayed in the Mori Room and it was definitely beyond our expectations. The room was so big, it felt like you were actually booking a spacious apartment to stay rather than only a room. Also, there were local snacks replaced daily and selected beverages at our disposal in the room, all for free. The view was incredible, especially when bathing in the private onsen in the room. They had sliding doors to cover the glass walls, so it wasn't too bright in the morning, unlike what many people complain when staying at a ryokan. And of course, the spotlight of our stay: They place you on a PRIVATE ROOM for the meals, with a relaxing ambient sound and a view of their garden while serving you a whole course of Japanese meal on the fancy side.

It's not their fault, but: - Tbh it's really difficult to get there. A real journey when you're an outsider and have to find out how the Japanese transports work. We left from Tokyo by bullet train to Saitama, then got an Express Train to Nakanojo and from there we got a bus to Shima Onsen. You can say you learn a lot just to reach their area :") especially because of the way the bus works (remember, JR pass doesn't work on most buses and you have to either pay by IC cards or in cash). - The price is really expensive, so much that even the Japanese people doesn't stay in places like this often or for more than a couple days at most.

The whole place is both stunningly beautiful and also wonderfully strange, as it is three buildings of different ages cobbled together. It's quite a maze to figure out. The room itself (Japanese style suite with private bath) was beyond our expectations and perfect for our needs. We also loved the little private lounge on our floor. Glad we stayed for two days. It is a really magical place. The food was excellent and beautifully presented. They accommodated my vegan daughter's needs very well. In fact if I were to return, I would opt for vegan myself, as the standard fare is more fish-based than I like. My wife (who is a chef) loved all of the meals. There are good options in the town for lunch.

We were horrified on the first night to be served a shark fin salad. Shark fin is a cruel and unsustainable ingredient, acquired by slicing the fin off a live shark and just throwing them back into the ocean to die. They should stop serving this immediately. I'd have to say that for myself the Japanese breakfast was difficult. Lots of complex flavors and fish first thing is not my favorite. Consider this before you opt to include breakfasts.

Love love love the room - super spacious and the onsen was perfect. So many small touches going into the experience, with the scent in the room, the tea and snacks and nice toiletries. While meals are not served within the room, they had private rooms within the restaurant for all the meals, which was a great experience too. There is a beautiful lounge with complimentary snacks and coffee/tea too. Service from the staff was impeccable.

Nothing really! If you wanted to nitpick, it was abit of walk getting from building to building since there were 3 of them. But you don't necessary have to if you're happy staying in your own building. We just wanted to explore the premises. It may also be quite difficult to get here without your own ride too - we rented a car and parked free within the ryokan.

Although the building is old, its not falling a part and the rooms are very well maintained. Our room with a private onsen and also private kaiseki meals was excellent, a once in a lifetime experience. Meals are great, the outdoor bath is also awesome.

If you arrive by bus, with medium size bag like us, keep in mind that there are stairs you need to climb and the staff will not help with the bags. I believe they should review that, it's very uncomfortable. Also they need to add English signs into the elevators and the overall building as its like a maze and only having japanese signs is not helpful at all. Last thing, they close all doors at the hotel by 11 PM so you cannot get out. The lights on the bridge also goes out by this time.

Beautiful and historic ryokan, set in a little village away from attractions. Our room was very large, with a private onsen and a pretty view. Dinner was served in our room and it was outstanding! Breakfast was served in a private dining room downstairs. There are two parts of this ryokan - the newer side with large rooms, and the older side with more traditional rooms/service.

The only thing was that our shower didnʻt drain, which was a little yucky.