Thank you so much for this fantastic thread KI-NRT. I’ve read the entire post and most of the replies at this point.

My girlfriend and I will be in Japan in late December and have one free day/night during which we would like to stay at a wonderful ryokan. Based on our tastes, trip routing, and room availability we have narrowed it down to Beniya Muyaku or Hanamurasaki.

KI-NRT I read your review of Beniya Muyaku. I don’t see a review for Hanamurasaki in the post, but it sounds like you have been there. Do you have a preference between the two? If I had to prioritize two things that we value the most, it would be food and general “luxuriousness”. In case this impacts your answer, Hanamurasaki is completing a renovation of several of their rooms which will be complete in October. This is what the room at Hanamurasaki that we would book (Art Suite [Natsu-5] with private open-air bath and sauna) looks like post-renovation:





Whereas, at Beniya Muyaku, the two most premium rooms (Wakamurasaki Suite and Byakuroku Terrace Suite) are unavailable on our date - all the other room types are available. Of the available room type, the Zen Style Executive Suite appears to be the most premium option that we would book:








If anybody has stayed at both (or even either) and can offer some insight, it would be greatly appreciated. Pricing is relatively comparable, so I am not factoring that into my decision. Who knew this could be such a difficult decision!