It's been a few years since we stayed here (back in '03) but I have nothing except positive things to say about this place. It was very memorable, from the facilities to the staff to the food they served. Might have even been the best stay I've ever experienced.

We took the Shinkansen in from Tokyo station to Odawara (using our JR pass); that excursion took an eyeblink of time. We then bought of Hakone Freepass at Odawara then found our way up the mountain to Miyanoshita station. A short but somewhat steep hilled descent took us to a little shed-type of building which was staffed by an older gentleman who spoke some English. He grabbed our bags and told us to get into the cable car as we'll be heading downhill. It was pretty neat to experience a little, private, excursion just to get to our hotel. The ride down was quick and dropped us into a lush green valley. We then got off and took a little paved path to the main building. The path was filled with Japanese garden antiquities. Very nice.

We then got into the main building and checked in right away. Although we reserved one of the smaller rooms, we were graciously informed we were being upgraded to a suite. Actually, I wasn't even clear on this at the time as the staff's English wasn't entirely clear to me, but it became apparent when I entered the room, which was just downstairs from the main reception hall.

The room was indeed a suite, with multiple rooms and easily 1000 square feet in size. I couldn't believe how large it was. Who said that Japanese ryokans were supposed to be tiny? There was a living room, which was western style, with carpeting and two sofas. The next room was a tatami room for our bedroom /dining area. Adjacent was another large tatami room that we obviously didn't use since there was only two of us. Then we had a very large bathroom which featured a huge rock-lined tub. Outdoors there was a private small patio for us as well.

We received our dinner and it was quite unreal -- completley Japanese style, meaning that presentation was of the utmost importance. We spent about 10 minutes just taking pictures and video of the food layout since it was an artistic appearance of its own. I've never, ever, desired to do that type of thing in my life, despite having eaten in some of the finest restaurants in the world.

The hotel has a private bath which we reserved for an hour or so of use. The tub was made of cedar-like wood which flowed constantly with natural hot spring water. Needless to say, it was a great romantic experience that I've never had experienced anywhere else before.

Sadly, we only got to spend one night there. If i had known how relaxing this place was I would've booked more time. My next trip I certainly will do that.

First of all, this Ryokan (Japanese style hotel) is located in the Hakone area - about 1 hour train ride from Tokyo. You can reach it by car or by train. The place is simply amazing. You arrive first at the cablecar station building which is on the main road through the area. It is only a 5 minute walk from the nearest bus stop. You then make the descent down the side of a mountain to a river. After crossing 2 bridges and walking through a garden, you arrive at the check in desk.

We left our shoes and were given a pair of slippers to wear around the hotel. The luggage was carried to our rooms, where we took off our slippers and were shown around. We had 1 large room which would serve as our living, dining and bedroom. We also had a long enclosed porch overlooking a waterfall and garden with several shrines. We also had a toilet room, bathroom with full amenities and a tub room. The tub room had a rock bath for soaking which retained the water's heat for several hours.

The food at the hotel was amazing. There had to be at least 15 courses to each dinner. One night we had shabu-shabu. We finished and felt we had a fantastic meal. Then the rest of the food arrived. It was amazing. This meal would have easliy cost $150 a person if eating out somewhere.

Despite the staff speaking little english, we had no trouble during our stay. They did everything to make us feel welcome. I even had emailed some requests for meals (western breakfast and no sashimi for one of our guests). These were all done without no additional mention from us during our stay.

It was a totally Japanese experience. The hotel is an excellent jumping off point for touring the Hakone area. You get an early start and beat all of the day visitors from Tokyo. We were back to our room before the crowds arrived at the tourist sites. I would definately stay there again