Nishimuraya Honkan

“Crow Jewel of our two-week trip to Japan”

This was our (my daughter, son-in-law & myself) 3rd destination durinng our two-week drip to Japan (Tokyo, Osaka, This Onsen, Kyoto, and finally back to Tokyo). Reflecting back, all of us easily agreed that this was definitely our most memorable experience. I let my daughter decide on our itinera… more

This was our (my daughter, son-in-law & myself) 3rd destination durinng our two-week drip to Japan (Tokyo, Osaka, This Onsen, Kyoto, and finally back to Tokyo). Reflecting back, all of us easily agreed that this was definitely our most memorable experience. I let my daughter decide on our itineraly, but my only request was that one destination was an onsen resort with traditional ryokan. All I can say is she definitely picked the best of the best in my mind and I will be including this stop in my future trips. This place had everything I had hoped and imagined: traditional ryokan with tatami floor, a view of a private garden, and Omotenashi that represents what Japanese hospitality really is. From the moment we stepped off the private shuttle from the train station to entering the station on our return, the service was spectacular. I have been a lifetime Marriott Titanium Elite member for 8 years (17 years as their Platinum before recieving the lifetime status). Additionally, I was Hilton's Diamon Hhonors for 4 years. I have traveled coast to coast and nothing comes to the level of hospitality I received at this ryokan. As for dinner we reserved Kaiseki for both nights of stay. According to google: Kaiseki is a traditional, multi-course Japanese fine dining experience that emphasizes seasonal, local ingredients, artistic presentation, and a balance of flavors, textures, and colors, often served in a specific order from appetizers to dessert, and is considered the pinnacle of Japanese cuisine. I can tell you both of our dinners met that description. Our first night dinner lasted abour 3 hours and our second was 2.5. Both were completely different course menu and we could not decide which on was better (as attached photos proves). Kinosaki is known for their crab and we were in the tail end of their crab season so crab was everywhere including the shops and restaurant in town. I can say I've had more crab at this resort town than the last 10 years combined. Moving on to the hospitality. While my daughter was completing the check-in, my son-in-law and I relaxed in the lounge. They had hot and cold drinks, but we both eyed the giant cold brew machine and immediately went for the cold brew coffee which was chilled ice cold in a wooden tub. When she joined us, another staff came and asked us a few questions, including whether we preferred washoku or western breakfast. Natually we selected washoku...why would anyone stay in this traditional ryokan that is celebrating their 165th annniversasy and choose western breakfast? Sadly to say, I did note a few other guests having western breakfast next morning. Note, Kaiseki dinner is served in your own room, but the breakfast is served upstairs in a Japanese style restaurant. Oops, got a little off track. Resuming the hospitality, after questions such as what time do we want to start our dinner and what not, he escorted us to our room. We lucked out and got a 1st level room...why? because we can walk out of our room out to the private garden. If you're like me who request highter floor for a hotel room, this is one place you should be happy to get a 1st floor room. Obviously, our luggage was already in our room. We had a dedicated service staff who provided the best hospitaity you can imagine. The Guest Service Leader was HSU LING WEN. I had assume she was Japanese until the second night's Kaiseki dinner because she spoke both Japanese and English fluently. I'm hoping she would be providing the service during my next stay there. If you happend to have her leading the service, you're in great hands. The ryokan has two onsens in the building, one for men and the other for women guests. They alternate morning & afternoon so you will be able to experience both. Because these are restricted to ryokan guests I don't think you'll need to worry about being crowded. Additionally, you'll get a pass to visits six public onsens in the town for free during your stay. They do get crowded because there are other hotels/ryokans in town. The good thing is that there's a website that indicates how busy each of these public onsens are (in percent and number of guests). They can accurately gauge because they scan people going in/out. Note, there are seven public onsens, but one was closed for renovation. We did all except one, just for the experience, but we all liked the onsen on premise. It's much more relaxing to enjoy than the public ones. Finally, after our check-out you can either take their shuttle back to the train station or walk. Since we had some time we decided to walk and shop around. Here's another hospitality. The ryokan asked us our train time and they arranged our luggage to be taken to a luggage storage service right across the station. After finishing our shopping and snacking walking to the station, we handed our luggage ticket to the agent and we had our luggage. It was only a couple minutes walk to the station entrance. I guess the only thing we missed during our stay was cherry blossoms which was forecasted to start in a couple days. However, we did have plenty of opportunities in Kyoto and Tokyo before heading back to the states. All in all, the stay at this ryokan was the pinnacle of our trip to Japan. There are other lodging options, including its sister hotel (which was sightly less) but if you want the very best memorable experience, you must plan your stay here. You will not regret, especially if you are hoping to experience Omotenashi. My other daughter and her husband want to do the trip to Japan soon so I know I will be once visiting this amazing ryokan and its staff. Finally, many staff members speak English so no need to worry about communication.

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“Yes--the Experience is Worth It”

This was my choice for my daughter's traditional ryokan lodging on our trip to Japan. We stayed in the Asuka room and reserved the Matsuba crab dinner served in the room. I have stayed at other well known ryokans and this stay was everything I had hoped my daughter would experience. From the profes… more

This was my choice for my daughter's traditional ryokan lodging on our trip to Japan. We stayed in the Asuka room and reserved the Matsuba crab dinner served in the room. I have stayed at other well known ryokans and this stay was everything I had hoped my daughter would experience. From the professionalism of the staff and the sheer beauty of the gardens, to the subtle colors of the cold weather garments worn over the yukata-- all contributed to a wonderful stay. FYI The crab dinner is delicious but a massive amount of food The Japanese breakfast served here was, by far, the best of our trip (and we had them each day in Japan) The public onsen were fun to visit, but a bit disappointing compared to others I have visited before. We actually enjoyed the quiet onsen at the ryokan more.

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“Welcoming and very comfortable”

Our stay here was outstandingly enjoyable from beginning to end. We were warmly welcomed like old friends on arrival at this beautiful property. We have stayed at some of Japans great ryokans on our frequent visits to Japan and Nishimuraya ranks with the best on every measure. Our garden view room … more

Our stay here was outstandingly enjoyable from beginning to end. We were warmly welcomed like old friends on arrival at this beautiful property. We have stayed at some of Japans great ryokans on our frequent visits to Japan and Nishimuraya ranks with the best on every measure. Our garden view room was especially comfortable with yukatas, great toiletries, refrigerator with complimentary drinks, tea, plenty of power plugs, and excellent wifi. Service here is remarkably good and staff are friendly, obliging and anticipate every need. We had an excellent kaiseki dinner with lots of delicious crab dishes. Our server was very capable and friendly, making sure we enjoyed our dining from start to finish. Breakfast is Japanese style and is served in the breakfast room on the second floor. Our futons were comfortable and made for great sleep. The property has two excellent baths to enjoy and there were lots of towels in each one. Guests also have access to nearby onsens. There’s a nice lounge area with coffee and tea. The gift shop has lots of unique items so it’s worth a visit. Location is perfect for exploring the town and area. We wished we could stay longer so most likely we will return soon.

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“A beautiful hotel that presents many problems for English speakers”

This is an architecturally beautiful hotel, combining a classic Japanese ryokan with a Frank Lloyd Wright feel. The wooden screens, tatami mats and other features are beautiful, and there is a wonderful view of a garden with a waterfall from the main lounge. The onsen baths are great and there are … more

This is an architecturally beautiful hotel, combining a classic Japanese ryokan with a Frank Lloyd Wright feel. The wooden screens, tatami mats and other features are beautiful, and there is a wonderful view of a garden with a waterfall from the main lounge. The onsen baths are great and there are amazing massage chairs for when you finish your soak. However, our stay was not very pleasant. Virtually no one spoke any English and I had to constantly speak into my phone and show the staff the translation and then many of them just stared at me and turned away. If you went the wrong way or sat in the wrong spot, the staff would scold you in Japanese without giving you a clue as to what they expected. Our first night our room was very warm so I turned on the button marked “air conditioning” and heated air came out of the vents. When the temperature got up to 26C (80 degrees) we turned it off and sweated through the night. When I complained about the room being 26C at the front desk, the staff just shrugged. A British traveler overheard my complaint and gave me an information sheet (not provided to us at check-in) which stated that the hotel has only heat OR air conditioning and that the A/C would not be turned on until May. Thus, when you push the A/C button you get heated air. The next night we slept with the windows open. Our Kaseki dinners were elaborate affairs with more than 10 courses. However, once again, the staff could not understand our requests. We ordered a bottle of an Italian red wine by pointing to the menu and ordering wine “C”, which was third on the list. They brought us both the red we ordered and a glass of Chablis because when I pointed to the red bottle and asked for wine “C” they concluded I wanted a bottle of red and a glass of Chablis

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