Arai Ryokan

:)

Von A-Z einfach top. Wunderschönes Ryokan mit Innenhof, und sehr freundliches Personal. Viele Onsen, einen Onsen kann man auch für sich privat mieten. Man erhält eine Yukata, mit dieser kann man auch im Dorf spazieren gehen. Das Essen war sehr gut & kunstvoll angerichtet.

Nichts auszusetzen.

Literally everything: from venue (simply amazing), to staff (more than lovely and professional: special thanks to Junna, the two ladies taking care of us at meals and the lady at the front desk), to exquisite meals, onsens, services (we could rent bikes to sightseeing the surroundings, purchase items in the ryokan’s shop). The venue is centrally located, at walking distance from major cultural attractions, shops and trails leading to stunning spots.

Nothing: all was simply perfect !

Everything except transportation.

Inconvenient transportation.

Doświadczenie na najwyższym poziomie. W czasie podróży po Japonii zrobiliśmy sobie przystanek w tej uroczej miejscowości wybierając Arai Ryokan. Standard hotelu przewyższył nasze oczekiwania. To wybitne miejsce. Możesz tu poczuć klimat starej Japonii, doświadczyć gościnności i cieszyć się otaczającą przyrodą. Odkryjesz smaki kuchni japońskiej w przygotowanej specjalnie kolacji i śniadaniu. Koniecznie skorzystaj z termalnych źródeł, które po podróży ukoją twoje zmęczone ciało. Zapamiętamy to niezwykle miejsce na zawsze. Dziękujemy.

Arai Ryokan is a historic ryokan that has been there since the late 1800s. It is huge, like a small ancient city with carp pond and zen garden. Every corner is history, very pretty and serene. It is like a living museum. The location is unmatched, right in the middle of Shuzenji's attraction, a stone throw to the main temple and is right on the main river bank. There are so many onsen options that ones need to carefully plan to hop into all during the stay. The attentive and polite staffs are the main highlight. All the scores I gave here are for them.

The futon bedding is also uncomfortable. The bedsheet keeps unravelling. Food is very average to below average comparing to other ryokans we stayed on this trip. The to old age building materials and architecture, sound proof is non exist. Those rooms on an upper floor have an advantage while rooms on the lower floor, not only have limited view but also at the mercy of the upper floor guests' behavior. Most of the rooms are tiny, Japanese style. Our river view room has sewage view instead of river. The tiny box room was vibrated with loud bang from upstairs neighbor till after 11pm. We had the worst night of the trip and there was no view to sooth it. We could not open the window since it opens to sewage area. I felt like we were stuck in a tiny box that was shaken by tremor half the night. Turned out there were drunk guests stampeding the floor above us and had a fight with one another. We booked for river view but the hotel said we didn't. When I showed them the reservation, they said we had to direct message them in advance to inform them of view choice. I showed them we in fact did send the direct message request for river view prior to arrival. Then they switched the response to "it is not possible to choose view." When I booked, I chose river view despite higher price. This part feels like a scam. Booking.com should in fact do something with this. I always pay for the view I like. I don't mind extra cost but to have to go through bad experience for the stay is a waste of precious time.

This is such a special ryokan, right on the river and overall it was a wonderful experience. There are multiple onsens to choose from. The ryokan food took us out of our comfort zone, and we tried Japanese dishes we never would have otherwise. The staff were all very helpful which added to making our stay pleasant. Make sure you arrive right on the check in time to make the most out of your stay or even better - opt to stay two nights! :-)

- Service vraiment exceptionnel - Cadre magnifique - Chambres belles et confortables - Repas de grande qualité (même si quelques plats un peu surprenants pour les palets non habitués) - Onsens nombreux et superbes

RAS