Name: Kinokuniya Ryokan
Address: Ashinoyu 8, Hakone, Hakone, Hakone, 250-0523, Japan
Rating: 7

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Kinokuniya Ryokan

Hakone

Perhaps it's the Japanese in me, but I think if you're going to stay in an onsen (hot springs) area like Hakone, you need to stay in a ryokan. Jamie W. and I stayed in a nice one in Kyoto several years back, though that was on the higher end. Founded in 1715 as a stop on the Hakone Hachiri, this inn is over 300 years old and quite traditional like stepping back into a 1950's Yasujiro Ozu movie.

We reserved a large tatami room (248 sq ft) with a private bathroom and mountain view for a reasonable ¥21,780. It was spartan by Western standards though there was a TV screen we never turned on. We also had a couple of chairs next to the window. Otherwise we slept on thin futons that laid flat on the tatami. It can be challenging on the back if you're not used to it.

We were quite surprised to be informed they were not serving dinner or breakfast, the usual service at a ryokan, presumably because they had so few guests staying overnight. Unfortunately we were in an isolated area and not logistically close to the more touristed area next to Lake Ashi. We thought we'd go to bed hungry, but luckily we found the nearby Doll House Museum had a cafe that provided a hot meal.

The must-do was reserving a half-hour in the private bath filled with the natural hot springs water. It was across the road from the ryokan in its own cabin. There were two discrete baths. One was the hydrogen carbonate spring which was kept at a high temperature that made it difficult to stay for more than a few minutes. The other was the sulfur spring which was comparatively cooler and consequently more relaxing.

No Dinner. No Breakfast. But the Private Bath Helped.

We stayed here on our family trip (2 adults and 2 kids) and it was lovely. Large well appointed room, lovely friendly staff and great onsen. Family bath(private) is available for an extra fee. Communal bath has indoor and outdoor option. Dinner and breakfast were extensive and beautifully presented. There’s a small games room with a table tennis table for the kids. They provided kids size Yukata and slippers too. A great place for a family stay

Beautiful Ryokan 

Not only is the ryokan in an uncomfortable location for hiking, but it's impossible to enjoy the thermal benefits. The structure is fatiguing, old, the garden neglected so much that it looks like a dump, the nauseating smell of mold everywhere. I'm sorry, because it's obvious that the ryokan has had a glorious time, but now it's all over again and not worth the price paid. The staff, however, were very friendly and efficient.

Terrifying.

The experience of staying in a Ryokan was highly recommended, the room was spacious and the dining and breakfast service excellent. Good location., with the bus stop next door. The private onsen was a real luxury, we could use it at night. Special attention with the children, they had a yukata of its size and a special dinner. The establishment is a little outdated, although we were told that they are improving. There is an electric heater, but as we have been in the middle of winter the feeling in the bathroom was chilly.

Recommended experience, establishment in the process of improvement.

This was an incredibly old hotel. Not sure what its history is but it looks like it could have been 2 big houses combined to be run as a lodging house. It was dark and creepy. Our room layout was strange. There was no bathroom. Instead of having useful furniture, it had huge display cabinets with odds and ends that were totally misplaced and useless, taking up precious space. The dinner that came with our room was not good either. Never again. 

Odd to say the least. Creepy too 

Firstly a very well located ryoken (close to the lake) but at the same time far from the city so very quiet. A very warm and dedicated welcome. The room is very simple but at the same time it is the principle of the ryoken with kimonos waiting for us for a beautiful immersion. We were able to enjoy the chairs that overlook the garden (quite comfortable since my companions are sleeping). An excellent dinner (they are suitable because I don't eat pork) and a very good breakfast in the form of a buffet. We were able to enjoy Onsens which accentuates this feeling of zenitude.

Immersion in the Culture

I booked this ryokan by reading the positive reviews; I was very disappointed. Very old structure, poorly maintained and also a little dirty strange to be a Japanese structure!) Lonsen consisting of two outer and an inner tub was not at all inviting To reach the room you had to go to a construction site; in the structure they were doing renovation work for which it would have been appropriate to keep it closed

Negative experience

The overall experience to stay in a Ryokan was very nice.  what we liked the most was location of the Ryokan, it was away from the main city center but yet because of good transport (Bus stop is just 2 minutes walk), one can enjoy the serenity without much of a transportation hassles.  The room, going by Japan standards, was really very huge.  I would have given five stars, but because our room was not cleaned during our stay of two nights, and because our toilet pan was shaking (it was not fixed properly) I have given one star less.  I would have been very happy to see how the beds disappear during the day time, instead our beds were just how we had left and not even done up for the second day. I enjoyed the onsen.

Nice Experience to stay in a Ryokan

Dinner in this ryokan was fantastic, one of the best experiences of our trip to Japan. We spent a day relaxing. The structure is really luxurious, the service of the staff is really courteous and excellent. The dinner was delicious, very much served, the dishes are all very clean and very good. The next morning we were waiting for a buffet breakfast rich in fruits and healthy and nutritious dishes. The onsen was really nice, we only enjoyed the private dishes included in our reservation, they had two different temperatures, one was like a normal hot bath, the other was VERY VERY COLD and it was worth trying to get a tattoo here for a long time!

The best experience!

Our travel firm organised for us to stay here, no doubt to get an authentic Japanese experience, but after incredibly comfortable stays in various cities (Tokyo, Kyoto, Hiroshima and Osaka) in invariably immaculate accommodation (admittedly in more "Western" hotels), the standards of this Ryokan fell far short of expectations.  The staff make a lot the Japanese traditions, and the 400-year-old history of the place, but at times it felt that the threadbare carpets and musty toilets had not been renovated since the 1700s either!  The "garden" was a building site- of which we had a great view.  The much lauded traditional dinner and breakfast were also distinctly ordinary- by the high standards one gets used to in this wonderful country.  I agree that the mature restaurant staff are delightful.  Portable heaters were placed in various parts of the hotel, as there did not seem to be any heating (including in our room) and, uniquely perhaps for a first world country, no running hot water in our room.  The onsen closed at 07:30 in the morning (as it was being cleaned that day- but why not after 10:00, after guests had checked out?), so we breakfasted (in our yukatas) and rushed back to Tokyo, and a shower!  The yukatas themselves were probably clean, but the overcoats could have been freshly laundered.  This place makes a lot of tradition and has various rules and regulations (drinks ordered during dinner have to paid for in cash etc.), but some of the underlying assumptions one gets used to in this magnificent country (obsessional cleanliness, perfection of ones surroundings) are not realised.  My recommendation is that the place is closed down, and a major overhaul and modernisation is carried out, to make it fit for the 21st Century and the next 400 years.

Kinokuniya Ryokan

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