Originally Posted by
evergrn
I guess things have changed since I last stayed there a few yrs ago. The Asian Twin Room no longer has real Onsen serving its Outdoor bath, but rather just heated water. That’s not good. They have other room types though with ensuite baths with real Onsen. I’m sure other other room types will Still be cheaper than Gora Hanaougi. Keep in mind that Green Plaza is a hotel, not a traditional ryokan. And their meals and common area are rather pedestrian. I just really liked their Asian room. If you can afford Hanaougi, I’m sure you’ll find it a superior experience. Fri and Sat nights are always more expensive.
We stayed at Gora Hanaougi for two nights about 2.5 years ago, and it was phenomenal.
i'm a fussy eater, so we were a bit worried about the elaborate and in some cases "unusual" (for someone from the USA) foods. But it turned out that not only were the meal presentations absolutely beautiful, but almost all of it tasted very good. The (very) few items that didn't appeal usually did not go to waste due to DH
Having the private hot springs tub on our balcony was special, with a gorgeous view across a huge valley.
Whenever possible, we try to stay at least two nights at each locale, unless the stop is truly "only for a stopover", in transit/etc. That "middle day" - at a minimum - makes such a difference in terms of not feeling rushed, and also having time to relax and/or explore.
We did the same thing - two nights - when we stayed at a Buddhist Monastery.
We were at Gora in late May, and it was a bit warm, given the "hot" springs bathing. We'd have preferred it in cooler times, but we still loved our time there.
Note: We requested dining with "western style chairs", and at our ages, that was a good choice. We also had requested Japanese style mats for bedding, and that was a bit more of a challenge (same thing occurred at the the Monastery, but there was no choice there). Gora Hanaougi also offers higher style regular mattresses, but be sure to reserve in advance if that is what you prefer.
But we are very glad we did it, and that we did it the way we did it. That was all part of the experience.
Oh, one nice touch about the dining and some of the unusual food items at Gora Hanaougi was that when our server noticed that DH and I had swapped something, or I just left something on my plate (tried or not), she always gave me/us a really friendly smile, and said, "Thank you for trying!" It was just a very nice little touch.
Yes, it was expensive, especially in closer to peak tourist season, but this was "THE Trip Of A Lifetime" for us, so we just "went for it", and also for the only time, used a tour organizer to make many of our arrangements, although entirely customized for us, including some unusual excursions and lessons.
We had a private guide much of the time, and even so, when we were on our own, outside of major cities, 2 or 3 times we did have a fair bit of trouble given the language/alphabet issues. But that, too, ended up being part of our special memories, albeit not necessarily right at the moment...!
We do not regret one thing, other than that we did not stay longer
GC