We had private bath onsen room. It was nice to enjoy the spa water without having to go to the public bath at the onsen. The daily breakfast was excellent - the family enjoyed them very much. Staff was helpful and the shuttle to and from train station was greatly appreciated.

When we arrived at the train station the first night, it was not clear where the phone was to call the hotel/shuttle. It was mentioned in our confirmation email but our family could not find it - we ended up taking a taxi. We later asked the staff to show us and it turned out to be a cell phone hanging by a wire next to the station elevator.

- driving 10mins away from Ogotoonsen station - free shuttle van bringing us to the ryokan (call them for pick up when you arrived at the station) - peaceful neighbourhood - the ryokan was very spacious! - enjoyed the time spent in the outdoor open bathtub (made with cypress wood) - nice view of the Lake Biwa! (can view sunset and sunrise) - breakfast was served in a private room in one of the restaurants. It was nice and filling! - we believe they served us the local breakfast with fish, rice, soup and side dishes. - had enjoyable time at the public onsen. We went during non-peak hours, it was nice and not crowded at all.

- improve the air-conditioning as it felt a bit warm during the day (early autumn) - sew the comforters as some feathers flew out - add few more vending machines

Outdoor private bath. The main reason why I'd like to come back! Very nice food selection for both dinner and breakfast. Would have been nice to have these served in our room and not having to walk hallways that aren't heated properly. Free shuttle from JR Otogo-onsen station. Too bad you have to call using your phone, but it was there within 5 mins. Relatively easy to travel from Kyoto using trains.

Hotel doesn't feel like a true ryokan. It's big and some sections are almost abandoned. Dinner and breakfast were served inside individual booths, but not in the room. Be aware that breakfast times are either 7:30am or 8:00am. Check-out is 10am. We rushed to use one last time the outdoor private bath before checking-out (extending the check-out time of 1 hour is charged at over 4,000JPY!).

Everything about this property was amazing. I loved that there was a phone at the station to call for a shuttle. Although it’s a secluded location, the shuttle takes you back to the Ogotoonsen station if you wanna go elsewhere! We went to Kyoto and spent the whole day there and get back in time for our scheduled dinner. Upon arrival to the hotel the staff gave us a mini tour of the property so we would get familiar with it and when we got to our room I was so amazed. I’ve never felt more bougie in my life. The private open air bath was so nice and had the best view and the rest of the room was cool too. We had dinner and breakfast included and loved the experience although because I’m not adventurous when it comes to food, the seafood was a little jarring. Ate it all nonetheless! It was all delicious and was surprisingly filling. Also highly recommend wearing the yukatas for dinner and breakfast so that your clothes don’t smell like cooked beef/fish after. The public onsen had a spacious wash area, a sauna, and decent indoor and outdoor pools. My bf only saw one or two other men there at a time. I unfortunately wasn’t able to go in because I have too many tattoos, but there are one piece ¥200 tattoo cover ups at the hotels store. Overall, a pleasant experience I want to visit again and highly suggest you visit if you’re in the area!

Their futons were a little uncomfortable.

The seating area had fun games like kendama, jenga and shogi. The food and drinks at cafe at the back of their lobby was actually quite good. It also had a beautiful view. The women’s bath had cool features including a jacuzzi bubble bath and a jet stream back massage-y portion of the pool. The men’s only had the jacuzzi. The hair products in the onsen are royal jelly so fyi if you have honey allergy, use their face wash as soap from their changing area.

It is SO understaffed. There’s like a small handful of people who are incharge of EVERYTHING in the lobby, be it reception, souvenir shop cashier, literally MAKING FOOD/DRINKS at their cafe (so they’re running all over the place). It’s kind of crazy. Because of this, the staff do not assist you with your luggage as much as one might expect from a ryokan upon arrival (only 1 person came to help a bit, we largely had to move everything ourselves). Usually at other ryokans, staff will insist on doing it for you. They did help move the bags to the room though.

Excellent ryokan stay near Lake Biwa! We had a private bath in our room which was lovely, and the room itself was spacious with a separate dining area which was very convenient. Provided toiletries were high quality and the ameneties bar was well-stocked. Staff were friendly and adept at using translation apps to speak with us as necessary. Whole area was quiet and overall a wonderful night spent.

Navigation between the room and other locations (onsen, restaurants) was a little tricky. The private bath was only protected by the outside by a blind that was only fixed at the top - the morning had poor weather and so the blind was often blowing inwards and over the bath, which was a bit annoying to contend with. I also told them at check in that only one member of our party was eating breakfast (I'm vegetarian, and they didn't have any options for me), but my travelling partner was served two breakfasts when he went to eat, which created some awkwardness and confusion.

It was easy and convenient to access by using the ryokan’s shuttle service by using the mobile phone at the station. The staff are friendly and helpful. The breakfast and dinner was fantastic. Private bath made it that much easier to enjoy in the comfort of our room.

There wasn’t much to dislike. It might have been more helpful if the information about the mobile phone was mentioned in the hotel booking. Luckily we noticed an older review mentioning this. But I noticed a lot of visitors were confused about how to get access to the shuttle service.

My partner and I are tourists from America, and despite the staff not really knowing how to speak English, they tried their best to communicate with us and explain things as thoroughly as possible! While the location is a little further out (it's about a 25 minute train ride to Kyoto proper), the ryokan itself is quiet and serene. I really enjoyed the atmosphere. The room I booked was very scenic and the bath was perfect!

While it's not so much what the establishment did wrong, but I wish there was a bit more variety outside of fish for their kaiseki. My partner doesn't eat fish much, so whenever we did have our meals at the ryokan, it wasn't as enjoyable for him as it was for myself. But that's a personal preference.

They offer pick up from the station, which is very nice. There is lake view and private onsen in our room, which is very enjoyable. The room size is super big, good for family.

I asked the staff how to get to Biwako Valley, which is a main attraction close by, they should know that the Valley is closed from Mid Nov to Mid Dec. It was disappointed that the staff's lack of knowledge to guide us a bit more accurately. There are LOTS of food for dinner and breakfast, instead of providing large quantity, it could improve in its quality.

staff were extremely friendly and helpful. our private bath was nice, the view was beautiful. dinner was absolutely incredible, i still think about the fatty tuna belly sashimi to this day. steak was really good. extremely good. overall, a really nice peaceful getaway. we forgot something at the hotel and staff got it to us at the train station very promptly. we didn't use the communal baths or walk around the property much, which i regret.

everything was generally clean, but the bathroom smelled a little like urine.