Kouyurou Ikawa

“Authentic - Onsen experience, with 5-Star cuisine - off the beaten path & worth it!”

I had an amazing stay there in December, the staff did speak a little english which helped. Check in was easy and the room was excellent. I did not expect the food to be as wonderful as it was. Traditional Japanese with a French/European twist at times, really delicious. The Onsen experiences were … more

I had an amazing stay there in December, the staff did speak a little english which helped. Check in was easy and the room was excellent. I did not expect the food to be as wonderful as it was. Traditional Japanese with a French/European twist at times, really delicious. The Onsen experiences were various and wonderful. It's quiet and as others have written "a modern tranquil ryokan." I am looking forward to my next visit. It is priced modestly for the experience, saw many families there and I was the only westerner and felt 100% welcome and comfortable.

less

“Absolutely great local onsen experience!”

I went to this hotel on a weekday, and seems it is for local travellers as I can't see any foreigners except me. Most of the staffs couldn't speak any English, just one male staff tried his best to explain and introduce the facilities, meals and room to us by very simple English. We were offered t… more

I went to this hotel on a weekday, and seems it is for local travellers as I can't see any foreigners except me. Most of the staffs couldn't speak any English, just one male staff tried his best to explain and introduce the facilities, meals and room to us by very simple English. We were offered two fruit cocktail upon arrival, check-in is done in the lounge while we were enjoying the cocktail, very nice and relaxing. Room is a tradition Japanese one, spacious, low table during the day, and while you go to dine, someone will go to your room to make your bed and move the low table aside. Sadly, there is no view, and even no garden to walk on for the whole hotel. Everyone is offered a complimentary 50-min session of private hot bath, there are 3 different style of hot bath you can choose from, two of them are like western style, one is japanese style with outdoor view. As a foreigner, we chose the Japanese style, it is actually a semi outdoor hot bath, the bath is indoor, but you can open the slide door very widely to enjoy the little green garden and have some fresh cool air. Nobody can go into the little garden, as the staff will ask you to lock the door when you go in to the onsen, totally private. Dinner time is at 7:45 which is a bit late but as i know they have 2 rounds of dinner, it is acceptable. Food was fabulous! Especially the sashimi plate, very fresh and the portion was big, also the western style grilled steak with avocado tasted good too. Dessert is special, there was a seasonal pumpkin mousse chocolate cake, which is so nice that i haven't tried anywhere else before. Morning breakfast was huge, there were many pickles to go with rice, salad was refreshing with the local special wasabi miso dressing, you can buy a bottle if you like it. The main dish is the grill fish, the staff will bring you a plate of assorted fish and you pick your own fish, then grill on the table. Everything was delicious but i couldn't finish them all, they are too much! The whole experience was nice, everything feel like local, quiet, relaxing, and satisfied!

less

“A modern tranquil ryokan, great for retreats away from the city”

This is my first time staying in this ryokan just for a night as I am passing by Izu to Mount Fuji area. It came highly recommended in the Rakuten website and it was very good value for the price we paid for a night's stay with 2 meals. It appears to serve mainly domestic tourists as we were the on… more

This is my first time staying in this ryokan just for a night as I am passing by Izu to Mount Fuji area. It came highly recommended in the Rakuten website and it was very good value for the price we paid for a night's stay with 2 meals. It appears to serve mainly domestic tourists as we were the only foreigners in the ryokan. The exterior of the hotel is not much to shout about, but when we stepped into the lobby, we could tell that it was recently refurbished. The lobby was modern with comfortable sofa sets with free flow coffee and tea available throughout the day. The ryokan only opens for check-in at 3pm sharp but the staff was very kind to guide us to a nearby soba eatery (Hashimoto - extremely popular with the locals) for a late lunch. It was very easy to park just outside the ryokan (no charges). We picked the Comfort Room (which is a series of upgraded rooms) at room 606 with a beautiful view of the Izu city. It was a typical Japanese tatami room (whereby the staff will make the bed during dinner) but with modern touches - flat screen TV and a large daybed/ couch etc. There is no Wi-Fi in the room, but we used the Wi-Fi in the lobby (very fast and strong). What was a surprise to us was the private onsen bath (on the first floor) - it was offered to us at no extra charges - we can get to use the private onsen bath for 50 mins at our preferred time. We chose the Haku bath, and the room even came with beer and ice cold water - the open-air onsen bath faces a small garden. It was a very relaxing bath. As we used the private bath, I did not try the public onsen bath. Dinner was fantastic, the hotel was able to accommodate my vegetarian diet (I emailed them prior) and the food was delicious! The dining room was on the 2nd floor and each table had a blind as a partition to offer privacy to diners. The ambience was cosy yet private. The choice of drinks (chargeable) was extensive as well. Breakfast (not buffet style) was served at the same dining room the next day and I must compliment the chef for his skills. There are plenty of things to do in the area of the hotel, due to its location, it is just 5-10 mins walk to the nearby temples. The strawberry farms however are further out and would need a car or a shuttle bus. The next time we are in Izu we will be back to this ryokan.

less