Shikanoyu Hotel

“Pleasant and comfortable”

My family stayed in this pleasant ryokan for a night in early February.  The ryokan was located on a hillside surrounded by woodland and a few scattered ryokans.  The ryokan staff courteously greeted us at the entrance.  We were led to a comfortable lobby area and served with welcome drinks and sna… more

My family stayed in this pleasant ryokan for a night in early February.  The ryokan was located on a hillside surrounded by woodland and a few scattered ryokans.  The ryokan staff courteously greeted us at the entrance.  We were led to a comfortable lobby area and served with welcome drinks and snacks.  The checking-in process was smooth.  Our room was a 12-tatami one with a nice mountain and valley view.  It was comfortable and typically clean.  Sound insulation was perfect.  There was a family with young kids in the next room yet we had not heard of anything throughout the night.  We had tried the private onsen, that was free of charge in weekdays.  There were two private onsen rooms served on a first-come-first-use basis.  The private onsen room was large and well-equipped and the bathtub could accommodate all four of us.  I also liked the public onsen, that had both indoor and outdoor pools and were nicely decorated.  A section of the indoor pool was installed with jacuzzi.   We had a spacious private room for our dinner and breakfast in the dining section.  Both served delicious Japanese food.  The highlight was the dessert buffet (serving western cakes, sweets, ice-cream, coffee, etc) held next to the lobby after the dinner.  What a nice touch by enjoying western desserts in a comfortable area after having the traditional food!  After breakfast, self-service coffee and tea was available in the same place.  The ryokan attached with a nice shop selling local produces.  We all enjoyed our stay, and it was indeed much better than expected.  The hotel was close to the Gozaisho Ropeway.  We had visited the Mt. Gozaisho, and it was really a winter wonderland.  Besides Mt. Gozaisho, there seemed not much to see in the Yunoyama onsen town.   But I think that the Shikanoyu Hotel itself is the highlight of our trip and it deserves 5-star rating in all aspects.  At a very reasonable charge, the Shikanoyu Hotel offered me one of my best ryokan experiences in Japan.  I definitely recommend the Shikanoyu Hotel to travelers who seek for a really comfortable and peaceful ryokan stay in the Gozaisho area. 

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“Lovely staff, lovely food.”

This hotel is a little out of the way which I can imagine is perfect of what you’re looking for is peace and tranquility but we had booked this for the Suzuka GP and it was a little out of the way. Staff were however fantastic at helping us getting us a taxi every morning to the track. The food was… more

This hotel is a little out of the way which I can imagine is perfect of what you’re looking for is peace and tranquility but we had booked this for the Suzuka GP and it was a little out of the way. Staff were however fantastic at helping us getting us a taxi every morning to the track. The food was a full Japanese banquet experience with something new every night and honestly the best part about the hotel. The staff were really very lovely trying to help us navigate our way through the dishes and we got to taste what we can only think is true Japanese food and loved every bite. Unfortunately due to time constraints we didn’t get to visit the ofuro which was one of the main reasons we booked this hotel but the rooms were beautifully clean and very comfortable which is exactly what we needed after a few long days. Thank you to the wonderful staff for all the help and the experience.

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“Great location, friendly hotel”

This hotel is right in the centre of town which makes it easy to get around to the sights worth seeing. The indoor / outdoor onsen was huge with a nice view but it's open to the public - can get crowded. I particularly enjoyed the dinner and breakfast buffet which had a good spread of Japanese food… more

This hotel is right in the centre of town which makes it easy to get around to the sights worth seeing. The indoor / outdoor onsen was huge with a nice view but it's open to the public - can get crowded. I particularly enjoyed the dinner and breakfast buffet which had a good spread of Japanese food. Good food and comfortable hotspring...what more can one ask for.

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“A Nice Surprise”

There are quite a few onsen hotels in the Yunoyama area stretching along on the way up hill. The onsen area is located half way up the hill where you can take a ropeway to reach the mountain top. We left our car to the hotel attendant looking after in-coming guests at the side of the road which is … more

There are quite a few onsen hotels in the Yunoyama area stretching along on the way up hill. The onsen area is located half way up the hill where you can take a ropeway to reach the mountain top. We left our car to the hotel attendant looking after in-coming guests at the side of the road which is the basement floor of the hotel. There are lockers there for the guests to leave their boots on the basement. The hotel lobby has a nice and warm environment. We were seated and served with tea and sweets while the staff briefed us about the hotel. I reserved a Japanese-western style room, with twin beds. The beds area has a raised platform and nicely lit. It was a spacious room with several temperature controls for different parts of the room. The view of the room is limited, facing the bus stop area. The onsen area is not big, and rather dated in fact. We had both our dinner and breakfast in the restaurant, with very outstanding food quality. The hotel arranged some paper-folding classes for hotel guests, after dinner time. There are also sweets provided free to guests at the hotel lobby until 9:00pm, a special treat you don't always find in a hotel. Anyway it was a nice surprise to stay at Shikanoyu.

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