Kurokawa Onsen Okunoyu

“The best place to stay”

A lovely place in a quiet setting beside a river. Price includes traditional dinner and breakfast. Ten separate bathing areas including some with mixed bathing outside with a waterfall in the background. A very relaxing and enjoyable stay. Will stay again.

“Ryokan with Private Onsen”

It is probably best to get to the Ryokan via car. For us, it was a little difficult to locate the Ryokan probably due to us missing the signs to where the Ryokan is located. After turning left from the main road, you will need to turn left and drive up the slope to the Ryokan. We were there earl… more

It is probably best to get to the Ryokan via car. For us, it was a little difficult to locate the Ryokan probably due to us missing the signs to where the Ryokan is located. After turning left from the main road, you will need to turn left and drive up the slope to the Ryokan. We were there early, slightly after 1pm as the check in time is 3pm. We left our luggage at the Ryokan and took a walk around that area. There are some shops and eateries after about a 10-minute walk. But we had some trouble finding a restaurant for a late lunch. Some are closed while another which we wanted does not have seats available. Managed to eventually find a tofu restaurant near that area. Staff in the Ryokan speak some basic English, which is sufficient for us to do our check in efficiently and get the information we need. The room we had is on the second floor, which is nice and of a decent size. Clean and comfortable. They provide Yukata in the room, which you can wear when you go to the onsen. Apart from the public onsen, you can also ask for the key from the reception to use the private onsen for an hour, if these are not taken. There are 3 (or four) private onsen available. We really love the onsen, both the private and public onsen. For the public onsen, if you go to the open onsen, do note that it is a mixed onsen, i.e. both males and females share the onsen. The Ryokan comes with dinner and breakfast at the dining rooms. Quality and quantity of the food for both dinner and breakfast is very good. The service staff in the dining rooms that served us is from Nepal, so apart from their native language, they also speak Japanese and English. Very helpful and cheerful staff. Overall experience in the Ryokan is very good. Would have given a 5-star rating if there are more eateries around the area for lunch!

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“Nice onsen setting, but not one I would return to”

The Kurokawa Onsen Oku no Yu was a pleasant enough stay, but overall it felt more like a decent mid-range ryokan than a standout experience. The outdoor onsen area is the highlight and the natural setting is lovely. We also chose the dinner option, which was convenient as the ryokan provides trans… more

The Kurokawa Onsen Oku no Yu was a pleasant enough stay, but overall it felt more like a decent mid-range ryokan than a standout experience. The outdoor onsen area is the highlight and the natural setting is lovely. We also chose the dinner option, which was convenient as the ryokan provides transport to and from the restaurant. The meal itself was enjoyable enough, but not particularly memorable. The private onsen system was the main disappointment. It operates on a first come, first served basis, which sounds simple in theory but was frustrating in practice. My partner and I tried twice and each time there was already someone ahead of us, despite arriving early. A booking system would create a much better guest experience and give everyone a fair chance to enjoy the private baths. The room was fine, but fairly basic. Compared to many of the hotels I have stayed in Tohoku and Kanto regions, there were no skincare amenities provided, so I would recommend bringing your own. Service was also noticeably less warm compared with other places we stayed in Japan. Not rude just a little more on the drier side. Overall, it was an okay stay with a nice onsen setting, but not one I would return to.

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“Really disappointed but some great points ”

I had high expectations of this place from the reviews and how it’s a lot more expensive than most Onsens. The good It’s a lovely setting. Next to the river it’s very pretty. The dinner was great and high quality and the staff very friendly The bad The hot springs could be so much better. W… more

I had high expectations of this place from the reviews and how it’s a lot more expensive than most Onsens. The good It’s a lovely setting. Next to the river it’s very pretty. The dinner was great and high quality and the staff very friendly The bad The hot springs could be so much better. We picked a private bath for 2 and it was so small I couldn’t get in it. There is also a mixed outdoor hot spring which is so shallow walking in it doesn’t even cover my knees. It’s such a shame too as there is a waterfall and it would be lovely to soak for ages here but it’s just too small. Our night sleep was also not good. For us there were Chinese families here making so much noise with kids running around and tv so loud we couldn’t even think about sleeping. The rooms have no sound protection so if you have other guests there that don’t consider others it won’t be restful. It’s such a shame as this could of been the highlight onsen for our trip to Japan but it let down by the things that really count Personally I wish we stayed somewhere else.

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