Sennen No Yu Koman

“Wonderful stay at a traditional Japanese Ryokan”

Soon after checking in, a member of the hotel staff came to our room to fit our Yukatas and tell us about the onsens in the area. She also gave us a ticket that would get us into all of the onsen baths in Kinosaki (which comes free with the room). We had a delicious evening meal which focused on cr… more

Soon after checking in, a member of the hotel staff came to our room to fit our Yukatas and tell us about the onsens in the area. She also gave us a ticket that would get us into all of the onsen baths in Kinosaki (which comes free with the room). We had a delicious evening meal which focused on crab (Kinosaki’s specialty) but also included a lot of different foods so we got to try a range of Japanese delicacies. Just make sure that you’re very hungry as it is a lot of food! The breakfast is also filling and delicious albeit quite early in the morning! After dinner, we enjoyed putting on our yukata and borrowing the hotel’s geta sandals to go around sampling the baths in the area. The hotel is an easy walking distance to all the main baths and is only about 5 mins from Goshonoyu which was my personal favourite. Just be aware that can be a little tiring in the geta sandals so you might want to give yourself a fair amount of time if you decide to head to Satonoyu. The bath in the hotel itself is also very nice and I actually preferred it to some of the smaller public baths so it is well worth putting the time aside to take a dip there as well. Overall, it is a little expensive but if you can afford it, I would definitely recommend a stay at千年の湯 古まん to experience a wonderful part of Japanese culture.

less

“Wonderful experience”

We were so glad we stayed at Sennen no Yu Koman. It was our first trip to Japan and our first time at a ryokan. We chose Koman thanks to a video consultation with an English-speaking (American) staff member of the Kinosaki tourist office, which cost a few dollars for 30 minutes, see visitkinosaki.c… more

We were so glad we stayed at Sennen no Yu Koman. It was our first trip to Japan and our first time at a ryokan. We chose Koman thanks to a video consultation with an English-speaking (American) staff member of the Kinosaki tourist office, which cost a few dollars for 30 minutes, see visitkinosaki.com. We were a family of four adults and decided to stay in one room, even though the price was only slightly less than two rooms. We made the booking through the visitkinosaki.com website. It was a very hot July day when we arrived but the air conditioning kept the room cool. The walls, decorations, ensuite bathroom  and toilet room needed a little updating but everything was clean. We stayed on the second floor of the main building facing the main street. There were other guests down the hall and on the floor above but we only heard noise at mealtimes when furniture was being moved upstairs. No street noise either. They provided one yukata for walking around town and use in the room. The colors were subdued but the female yukata had a more lively design. There were a variety of sandals available for walking around town, wooden getas and different types of plastic sandals. We didn't look at the hotel's baths, instead we visited four of the nearby onsen. They were enjoyable even on a hot day. Goshono-yu was our favorite. I think the location of Sennen no Yu Koman is just as good as anywhere closer to the station. It's only a few minutes walk to anywhere in the town, and there is plenty of activity in this area. The front desk spoke and the friendly young man who served our meals in our room spoke enough English. The kaiseki dinner had plenty of variety and everyone was well fed, even those of us who are not so adventurous with Japanese food,  We did one night in Kinosaki and I think that was adequate. If we did it again we would probably stay two nights, but I would try to book only one kaiseki dinner (probably this kind of booking is complicated). Kinosaki is 2.5 hours from Kyoto (or Osaka), but once you get to the Kinosakionsen station you are only a few minutes walk from everything. We came all the way from Tokyo and the limited express from Kyoto was much more scenic than the earlier shinkansen. It was a hot day and we were happy to be greeted at the station by the tourist office staff and escorted to a bus to various hotels. We only took small bags with us and on a cooler day a walk all the way to Koman would be a nice introduction. The next day the hotel arranged for a ride to the station. It was easy to leave our bags at the tourist office across the street, and then we took a local train for a few minutes and went swimming at the beach at Takeno.

less

“Onsen hotel with superb dinner”

The hotel is a classic onsen experience with the interior design and set up being very nostalgic and interesting. The hotel provides free pick up from the train station and umbrellas if it rains. The onsen bath is not the best, it is on the small side, but kept clean. Though this is typical for ons… more

The hotel is a classic onsen experience with the interior design and set up being very nostalgic and interesting. The hotel provides free pick up from the train station and umbrellas if it rains. The onsen bath is not the best, it is on the small side, but kept clean. Though this is typical for onsen hotels in busier onsen towns compared with onsen hotels which are more remote. The dinner is the highlight of the place with many kilograms of snow crab served in so many different ways in our room. All of which was prepared in a way so that it was really easy to eat. We were lucky to have a lovely staff member who knew both English and Chinese.

less

“Traditional Stay”

We spent a very enjoyable night here. The food was wonderful, the room and ambiance was traditional Japanese style so a great experience. It was raining and cold so we used the baths in this building. It was very enjoyable and relaxing. Emma who looked after us was excellent serving our dinn… more

We spent a very enjoyable night here. The food was wonderful, the room and ambiance was traditional Japanese style so a great experience. It was raining and cold so we used the baths in this building. It was very enjoyable and relaxing. Emma who looked after us was excellent serving our dinner and making up the bed. She organising everything for us including our free transportation back to the station. A night at a Ryokan is a very interesting and great experience we were very well looked after

less