Ryokan: Wanosato
Stay: 7 august 2023
Room: Garyu
Rating: ★★★★

My recent stay in the Garyu villa at Wanosatowas an unforgettable experience that was however on certain points below expectations. From the moment I stepped through the doors, I was greeted with a welcoming atmosphere. But the service that I expected wasn’t there due to an insufficient amount of staff. The location and buildings have an enormous potential but the garden and common areas are not well maintained or cleaned.

Check-In: The check-in process was seamless and pleasant. The hotel staff assigned us a seat in at their beautiful fireplace and gave us a welcome drink while they took quickly care of the formalities. They were not only professional but also incredibly friendly, making us feel right at home.

Room: The Garyu villa is very well located next to the river and has an incredible atmosphere due the the old beams and interesting structure and private fireplace. It had huge potential, however it’s not well maintained and the cleaning isn’t well done. When you enter the room, it smells mouldy and dusty. We were hoping for a rustic room and live ourselves in a house that was build in 1786, however the housekeeping team and the maintenance team at Wanosato is insufficiently staffed to maintain these large houses.


Service: The staff at Wanosato is very welcoming, friendly and polite, they work hard and very long days, however there is simply not enough staff.


Location: Wanosato is secluded and located next to a river, it is quite widespread. The location is quiet and exactly what we hoped for.

food: The Kaiseki dinner and the Japanse breakfast are simply amazing. We had dinner at a lot of Michelin restaurants during our trip, however the food at Wanosato was among the best we have had.

In summary, it’s a pitty that this property is not well maintained and not well staffed as it has huge potential. Note that there were almost only foreigners during our stay. I wouldn’t recommend and will not return.