Yukairou Kikuya

“Excellent value, enjoyable onsen stay”

This place offer high value for money! Recommend Pro: - Big ryokan, room is very spacious (in Japan standard) - 2 private onsen room (no extra cost), you can just use it when the room is free - Outdoor onsen and indoor hotbath available - Food is decent - Offer daily lounge for drink, and late nig… more

This place offer high value for money! Recommend Pro: - Big ryokan, room is very spacious (in Japan standard) - 2 private onsen room (no extra cost), you can just use it when the room is free - Outdoor onsen and indoor hotbath available - Food is decent - Offer daily lounge for drink, and late night ramen snack (very yummy) - Service is nice - Location is great, right outside bus stop and you can walk around Shuzenji easily Con - You may hear the room next door as the structure is old, but we are feel it is acceptable

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“Great Ryokan!”

This is a great ryokan, very relaxing and a wonderfully authentic traditional Japanese atmosphere. Certainly one of the best I have been to and agree with traveller comments such as "magical". We had the "Sou" room, which includes its own bath on the balcony. What an amazing experience! The room i… more

This is a great ryokan, very relaxing and a wonderfully authentic traditional Japanese atmosphere. Certainly one of the best I have been to and agree with traveller comments such as "magical". We had the "Sou" room, which includes its own bath on the balcony. What an amazing experience! The room is beautiful, clean and comfortable. The balcony is on the tree-filled river bank. The sound of the river is beautiful making the private bathing a fantastically relaxing time. The Ryokan itself is a mix of old and new, but all of it is beautiful. The dining area is nice and the food (dinner and breakfast) and service were absolutely amazing. There are a few public baths for men and women to choose from. I didn't find the indoor ones to be so great. The outdoor public bath was nice. There are also a couple of baths you can use privately if they are available. We didn't since our room had one. There is a nice coffee lounge to sit in. Check-in and check-out were perfect. Shuzenji is a nice little town and Kikuya's entrance is on the main street but the ryokan itself is across the river. Only thing we didn't like was when we got there (about 16:00) we had no option for dinner but 19:45, which was rather late for us. But, it was still great so maybe some advice is to request a dinner time when you book or call ahead.

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“This place could not be more magical!”

We chose Kikuya to celebrate our 10 year anniversary and it was the most magical choice. This place is the most beautiful retreat, a bit of Japanese heaven. We could not have picked a better place to celebrate. We came with our three year old and also another couple. We each had our own rooms and o… more

We chose Kikuya to celebrate our 10 year anniversary and it was the most magical choice. This place is the most beautiful retreat, a bit of Japanese heaven. We could not have picked a better place to celebrate. We came with our three year old and also another couple. We each had our own rooms and our rooms were stunning. We paid more to have a room with an outdoor private onsen and it was incredibly worth it. Both my husband and son are huge fans and it meant that we could go in an anytime as a family. It had a Japanese bath in doors so you could still go through bathing before and after. It was under the veranda so you felt like you were retreating and there was a cold water tap which helped to control the temperature. The room itself was spacious for a Japanese ryokan. There was a bedroom living room, toilet, bathroom, shower, veranda. Along with coffee and tea in the room. Everything you need to relax! The room easily fit 3 futons and 2 suitcases. The service here was stunning too! Greeted by warm friendly faces all the time. They gave us a lovely anniversary gift too. Upon arrival they welcomed us at reception (which was on the bridge with gorgeous views of the stream) with tea, a sweet treat, towels and even a yakult for my son. The grounds were amazing! The gardens that surrounds the ryokan is truly incredible. It’s like you’ve been transported to this beautiful Japanese bubble. I woke up one morning nice and early just to explore all the different areas and gArdens. There is complimentary ramen served at 10pm every night. A fun treat! And their coffee lounge is accessible at all times for DIY brew, machine lattes, tea and yakult. Again, I woke up early to just sit over the bridge and sip coffee. Only downfall of this place was the view from our room... renovations!!!! alas it’s out of their control but I wish they warned us and then from there given us either a choice to switch rooms or to have a discount. We would’ve had a gorgeous view but half was obstructed by an ugly bright blue renovation cover up sheet! Not the best to look at or take photos of ... especially when your relaxing in the onsen. Other than that, this place was pure magic. We absolutely loved it! Ps - our room was around $450/night, we saved by not having breakfast and dinner - you can email to request this, saves nearly $150/night. And we preferred this as we love eating out and exploring their local eateries.

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“Historical hotel”

Located near the downstream of the Katsura River, the hotel straddled both sides of the river. It is a historical building built nearly a hundred years ago with several phases of expansion. Check in was smooth though it took a while to finish. We went into our room and found it is one of the larges… more

Located near the downstream of the Katsura River, the hotel straddled both sides of the river. It is a historical building built nearly a hundred years ago with several phases of expansion. Check in was smooth though it took a while to finish. We went into our room and found it is one of the largest rooms we have ever stayed in Japan. The room was in fact a suite with separate bedroom and living room, and an additional sitting area, toilet and bathroom. My view was facing the hillside with lots of green. It was really an old house and it sounds when you are walking on the wooden floor. The hotel is quite big, with a restaurant, 2 public baths, one oudoor and and indoor, and 4 private baths, a bridge inside the hotel, a souvenir shop, a coffee room and many rest area. Free afternoon snacks and late night noodle is provided to guests. Japanese style dinner and breakfast was served. The quality and portion were both very good, and service was of course outstanding. I particularly like the option of soba in addition to white rice. Another excellent offer of the hotel is teh check out time of 12 noon. I have never stayed in a onsen hotel with check out time of 12, it gives you enough time to enjoy the hotel facilities.

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