Originally Posted by
MitzEclipse
I'd like the best bang for the buck in a traditional ryokan with onsen. communal onsen is OK. Flexible with dates so OK to do mid-week. Ideally 200-300 USD per night with breakfast + extra for dinner - not sure how realistic that is? also flexible on location so really like to plan the trip around 1-2 onsen ryokans with great food offerings.
Okay. There're just so many onsen places that it's hard to recommend one or two places unless you have a specific area in my mind. But sticking to southern Kyushu, Kirishima Hotel in Kirishima Onsen for instance comes in at 17,000yen + tax for 2 adults on 27th Dec, breakfast and dinner included. I've never stayed there, but it's a place I've been wanting to check out for a while.
In general, I expect to pay <30k yen for a room without private onsen, probably <55k yen for a room with private onsen. For 2 adults. Breakfast and dinner included. Only places that are >4.0 rating on Rakuten. Certain onsen towns are more expensive than others. But I usually book my onsen stays 2-6months in advance, and it's never a problem finding a reasonably-priced place in late Dec unless it's Fri, Sat or 28 Dec ~ 3 Jan or so as long as you have some flexibility. I stayed in Beppu around 26 or 27 Dec last year. When I went online to look for rooms literally the day before, tons of availability.