Kurokawa Onsen Yama no Yado Shinmeikan

The room was spacious and the historic atmosphere of the hotel was wonderful. The cave onsen was interesting, but not very hot honestly. Situated along the riverside was dramatic and so picturesque. I was fine sleeping on the futon mattresses on the tatami mats, but my friend complained that she was very uncomfortable. The food was ever-so delicious, but just too much for us old folks. It is a very romantic atmosphere and walking around the village was enjoyable.

The cave onsen was unique and quaint.

-We were picked up from the bus stop punctually by the hotel staff upon our arrival. This is much appreciated as we would not have wanted to lug our luggage on steep slopes. We were also sent back to the bus stop on our departure. -The staff is very accommodating and explained to us where the baths are and its timings, and each dish during meal times, among other things. They were also attentive to our needs and communicated in both English and Japanese. Such good customer service. - The hotel has a very traditional look. It probably is a heritage conservation building. Everyone is taking photos of the building and the bridge itself. -The environment is quite peaceful and calming, with the sounds of the river and smell of the wood. -The room is traditional, and has a view of the river and the town. We stayed in the Fuji Room. -The cave baths are a truly unique experience. A bit creepy, but different. I especially loved the open air baths, both public and private. -Dinner has an open charcoal pit in the middle, grilling fish and barbequing wagyu beef. The food was great, and we enjoyed it! -The location is in the middle of town and is nearby commercial establishments.

-We've had better breakfast from other ryokans. -The indoor public bath is a bit rundown. We just used it to shower before going to the outdoor baths and cave baths. -There's a bit of a climb to reach the private open air baths, and we were paranoid we could be clearly seen from the outside (hopefully not!) XD -The room's toilet requires better ventilation

The staff was very friendly and helpful. The best English speaking ryokan we had for the entire 10-day in Kyushu. The room was huge and they helped us with the bed arrangement. The communication via booking.com was excellent. They also gave us the photo they taken as a souvenir at the check-out.

We had spent about a week in Kyushu in half-board accommodations by the time we reached Shinmeikan and had to say that this place is the least we enjoyed. The food quality was fine but the quantity was not like typical dinners we normally had in other ryokans which was plentiful. We didn't feel like it's worth what we paid for. We had to order extra food for our dinner cos it's not enough. The private onsens for both indoor and outdoor need extra and better shower stations and need to be cleaned more often.

Shinmeikan is a truly amazing ryokan/ onsen. The whole building just oozes authenticity. Great tatami style rooms overlooking the river, super friendly staff who will help you with all your needs. Great onsen baths, especially the cave bad is spectacular. Dinner and breakfast are equally high quality and display a variety of Japanese cuisine. Absolute perfect place if you want to experience traditional Japanese onsen style ryokan.

Location is in a quaint onsen town with plenty of onsen to try. You can get the pass that last for 6 months 3 onsen or 2 onsen/ snack at the information centre. We got free access to the sister hotel /onsen just for staying here. The kaiseki meal on the first night was insane. The sake was incredible. The server from Myanmar was great and very friendly. Room was warm and futons comfortable, the view was also great. Onsen choice at this ryokan was also amazing, especially the outdoor onsen, we booked it twice. My husband is very tall and they were able to give him a larger / taller Yukata to wear which was very nice of them. Free loose leaf green tea in the rooms.

The pillows were very uncomfortable and very hard. We have had 'bead' pillows inJapan before but never this hard! The futons were left out all day so we had to put them back in the evening ourselves to enjoy some tea around our table. no tea options in the common area, only coffee.

Interesting cave onsen & many other onsen within the ryokan! Love the little bridge linking to the entrance. Beautifully located.

I hope meals are served in our room.

Meals were nicely presented and delicious. I love this heritage building and there is a cave hot spring which is very unique and needs to be tried. I can't find the Ryokan and park it at the wrong site, I walk to the Ryokan and told the staff I don't know how to coming in to this place and the staff help me to drive my car and park to the Ryokan car park place, the road is very narrow and have many tourist to walk, not easy to drive.

Not applicable

Food and room

It’s too cold at this time of the year to enjoy onsen. Even indoor onsen is cold in the changing area.

They got our luggage from our car which was parked a distance away and made it so seamless for us!

Nothing!