Koshi no yado Takashimaya

The room, staff, service, facilities, food, and location were excellent.

Nothing.

This ryokan took us by surprise, as soon as you approach the property you feel its grandeur. We were greeted upon arrival as we drove in, and the great hospitality continued throughout. The house is old but very charming. We had a lovely bamboo garden view room which was great to relax in, as well as large cypress tub. We used the outdoor Onsen in the morning after breakfast and this was a highlight - we loved the outdoor one which was small but very peaceful and perfect - I could’ve stayed there forever! Breakfast was well thought-out and delicious, and dinner was very generously portioned and brought to our room. This was a real highlight stay for our honeymoon, we bought some miso from the in-house shop, and the hosts gave us small gifts for our honeymoon which was so cute. Thank you for an amazing day, we’d love to come back one day!

Nothing, it was wonderful

A unique, authentic Japanese experience. Lovely staff who were extremely welcoming and helpful. The in-room dinner service was wonderful and the food was delicious and beautifully presented. I really unique experience. The onsen was very quiet (Sept) and we had it to ourselves which was also great.

My brother and I were looking to experience a traditional Ryokan whilst we stayed in Japan. We stayed in a modern Ryokan in Kyoto and were quite dissapointed by our experience so we changed our travel plans to stay here for a night in the last week of our three week trip. It was the best decision we could have made! Koshi no yado Takashimaya offer a service of collecting you from the local shinkansen station and then also returning you there upon your depature. Without this service we wouldn't have been able to stay as it was a 30min drive each way and would have required a car to get there. The communication to staff of our arrival times and responses were exceptional. I believe this location had been recently listed on Booking.Com, as the there was little English and the staff commented that had had very few foriengers stay previously. Google translate was super helpful in this instance. This is 100% a hidden gem and well worth the visit! We enjoyed a lovely dinner service of 9 courses in our room, where we got to try puffer fish, with a friendly waitress delivering each course. Then the a staff member made our futons after dinner, for us to sleep on the floor with pebble pillows. The onsen was fantatsic! Amazing to be able to experience this, and there were rooms with private onsens for those who wanted them. We then had a traditional breakfast the next day in the dining room, again amazing food. Only thing to be aware of is that the drinks in the fridge are not complimentary, and will be charged to your room. The value for money for this experince was incredible! It was well worth spending a bit more and venturing out to the country side to enjoy this inn which had lots of character and lovely staff. We were given Japanese socks complimentary upon departure. Plus they had a cute gift shop at the inn as well. If you are thinking about making the trip to stay here - do it! It is only an hour and a half from Tokyo via train. One of the highlights of trip!

Only comment was that the heat pump was a little loud - I'm sure these will be upgraded in the next few years. It is a shame Booking.Com won't let me add photos to this review, as the food was exquisit!