Tsubaki

“Exceptional authentic ryokan experience”

Exceptional traditional ryokan in Hakone and Yugawara. The thoughtfulness and service of the staff was wonderful in every aspect. Rooms were supplied with traditional robes, comfortable sleepwear, onsen on our terrace and hot spring baths. Kaiseki cuisine was delicious, plentiful and presentation … more

Exceptional traditional ryokan in Hakone and Yugawara. The thoughtfulness and service of the staff was wonderful in every aspect. Rooms were supplied with traditional robes, comfortable sleepwear, onsen on our terrace and hot spring baths. Kaiseki cuisine was delicious, plentiful and presentation was over the top. This is a beautiful facility with an excellent staff. If you want to experience Japanese culture at its finest you need to come here. Our 4 day visit was perfect and worth every penny. We will be back!

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“Serene and Elegant Japanese Ryokan-inn.”

両親の勧めで、露天風呂付きベッドのお部屋に泊まらせていただきました。久々の湯河原ですが、箱根、特に強羅周辺と比べるとアクセスもしやすいと改めて感じました。 椿の昔の漢字「海石榴」と書き、館内は海石榴の花のモチーフが至る所にあり、外のお庭にも沢山の種類の海石榴の木が植っています。 旅館入り口の外の道を上っていくと、川沿いに回遊路があります。足腰の悪い人には、ちょっとハードな坂道ですが、海石榴や、紅葉、桜の季節は見事なのだろうと想像します。あれだけ大きな回遊路を旅館の庭師の方が手入れをしていましたので、メンテナンスもよくされていると思います。 お部屋は広く、鯉のいる池とお庭の露天風呂もゆった… more

両親の勧めで、露天風呂付きベッドのお部屋に泊まらせていただきました。久々の湯河原ですが、箱根、特に強羅周辺と比べるとアクセスもしやすいと改めて感じました。 椿の昔の漢字「海石榴」と書き、館内は海石榴の花のモチーフが至る所にあり、外のお庭にも沢山の種類の海石榴の木が植っています。 旅館入り口の外の道を上っていくと、川沿いに回遊路があります。足腰の悪い人には、ちょっとハードな坂道ですが、海石榴や、紅葉、桜の季節は見事なのだろうと想像します。あれだけ大きな回遊路を旅館の庭師の方が手入れをしていましたので、メンテナンスもよくされていると思います。 お部屋は広く、鯉のいる池とお庭の露天風呂もゆったりで温度も丁度良かったです。 ベッドも居心地よく枕を選べました。 朝夕の食事は料理長と私の好みが一緒なのか、全体的に薄味で上品な出汁と期待通りの美味しさでした。アメリカ人の夫にも、この美味しさが分かって欲しいと思いました。 中居さんのサービスも良かったです。夕食に残ったご飯でおにぎりを作っていただきました。 大浴場そばの、ラウンジでの日本酒飲み比べとハッゲンダッツアイスクリームも気分が上がり良かったです。 チャックアウトの際、お土産屋さんで買った品を貰い忘れ、家に戻ってから確かめる電話をしましたら、丁寧なお手紙と一緒に送っていただきました。 可愛い海石榴のコースターですが、大事に使わせていただきます。 ありがとうございました。 At my parents' recommendation, I stayed in a room with beds and an open-air bath. It's been a while since I've been to Yugawara, but I realized once again that it's easier to access than Hakone, especially the Gora area. The old kanji for flower, camellia is written as `sea pomegranate,'' and there are motifs of camellia flowers all over the hotel, and there are many types of camellia trees planted in the garden outside. If you go up the road outside the entrance of the inn, you will find a walking route along the river. It's a bit of a tough slope for people with bad legs, but I imagine it's spectacular during the season of camellia, autumn leaves, and cherry blossoms. I saw an inn's gardener taking care of such a large garden, it must be well maintained all year around. The room was spacious, and the koi pond and open-air bath in the garden were elegant and serene. The bath temperature was just right as well. The beds were comfortable and I had a choice of pillows. Perhaps the head chef and I have the same taste buds, wonderful "dashi" umami, and lightly salted meals of traditional Japanese "Kaiseki" dinner and breakfast were elegant and as delicious as I expected. It was a delighted experience for my American husband to share and understand this delicate taste. Nakai-san's service was also professional. It was very nice of her to have made a rice ball with the leftover rice from dinner. It was a nice extra touch to serve Japanese Sake and Haggen-Dazs ice cream in the lounge next to the grand bath. Sauna was hot and nice as well. When I checked out, I forgot to pick up the items I bought at the souvenir shop, so when I got home I called to check on it, and it was sent to me very next day along with a polite hand written letter. I highly recommend this Ryokan. Thank you very much.

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“Beautiful Cultural Experience”

If you love Japanese culture, traditional old school service, and exceptional Japanese high-end multi-course food, this is it. Go and have this experience this before these historic inns disappear. Expensive? Yes. Great value? Absolutely. This type of inn with such dedication to excellence are nat… more

If you love Japanese culture, traditional old school service, and exceptional Japanese high-end multi-course food, this is it. Go and have this experience this before these historic inns disappear. Expensive? Yes. Great value? Absolutely. This type of inn with such dedication to excellence are national treasures. I loved the ritual greetings and the subtle decor. It is like an old, expensive, well-kept house. Sure, the cream coloured carpets showed their age but this is all part of the ambience. First impression was almost a deafening stillness at the inn once we stepped through the door, removed our shoes and changed into slippers. It was a true entrance between the outside and inside. We were greeted with exquisite politeness and shown to a large room where we were seated to face the rock garden. Then came the hot towels, tea and the little mochi. My family started sit up a bit straighter to whisper instead of talking in our normal voices. It was almost if we were gently moulded into our best behaviour by the setting. This continued when we completed the checkin at leisure, selected the hour of our meal times, drinks, and spa treatment and for at least an hour after we were shown our room. I had booked a private onsen with a lemon scented hinoki cypress wooden tub on a deck over the creek. With a blooming camelia bush arching over water, the room was idyllic. The bathroom/shower had another door that led to the tub. This perfect set-up has the potential to ruin any future hot springs vacation as it is now the 'gold standard'. The host and hostess did not speak English but our server for the two nights was a lovely young woman whose next job was a one year working visa to the US. So we had some good basic conversations. Food was wonderful. At first I was concerned about whether it would be a waste of money for the non-adult. However, our teenager surprisingly tried and could appreciate the massive effort of putting together the meals. As each course was served, we had time to discover and discuss each dish as a family. Small example on the value aspect: At Tsubaki, there were an exuberance of unique artisanal ceramics and lacquer ware are used at each meal. It takes years to accumulate and care for such dishes and the chef has to carefully consider his plating and presentation to create a harmonious composition. Each dish was subtle and flavourful. Thankfully we had all the time to savour slowly. Wished we had more room for the Hokkaido white rice, which was poetry in itself. Futon and the hugely fluffy duvets were great, as were the pj's. Spa was expensive but I would recommend it. Again, wonderful greeting. Incense, hot towel, foot bath. Not sure what treatment I had because I fell asleep until the therapist woke me to take me back to the room. Tsubaki is a treat to be savoured slowly. At least one night. Best stay 2. Note about going to Hakone: And it is easier and faster to take a taxi from the hotel and the back roads to Hakone/Lake Ashi to see that shinto gate on the lake than to taxi to train station, train to Odwara, change train to Hakone, then take bus.

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“My first ryokan experience”

The property was absolutely lovely, our room was very large, we chose the traditional room with patio and private onset which didn’t feel too private, we could see the lights to cars in the parking lot but we knew we couldn’t see people because of the forest so we weren’t bothered but others might … more

The property was absolutely lovely, our room was very large, we chose the traditional room with patio and private onset which didn’t feel too private, we could see the lights to cars in the parking lot but we knew we couldn’t see people because of the forest so we weren’t bothered but others might be. The futons were not comfortable for me, I’ve slept in one and it was heaven but it was at a modern establishment years ago in Tokyo so it’s hard to say if this is how it’s suppose to be. My futon did have a stain and I only saw it after I tried to stack two futons on top of each other. The room was clean, well maintained, and STOCKED with everything we needed. Our meals were amazing, minus one breakfast where everything was neba neba lol. The hospitality was amazing! Everyone was so nice and helpful. The staffs English was “so so” and our Japanese was awful lol so we tried. I couldn’t use the baths because I have tattoos, but I did get a spa treatment from Saya, the only person at the hotel who actually speaks English! She was great, one of the best massages I’ve had in a long time. The ryokan is NOT in Hakone. It’s “near” geographically but far by transport. We took a taxi to the town to get ramen, the shop was closed, the only place open was a Denny’s, so guess what!? lol we had Denny’s.

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