Originally Posted by
onepiece
I'm curious if anyone can speak to what they may have heard or personally experienced in these ryokans that may serve as a useful insight about any of these three ryokans pertaining to their quality, the meals, the environment, ect. Food is our priority for sure followed by having a comfortable traditional feel. Many thanks in advance and I hope to hear from you soon!
Cheers!
onepiece I can chime in on the Byakudan; (stayed there in 2023) and I'm considering going back this year, but we may try some new areas; though I am just a casual ryokan stayer and not an expert! Overall, I'd say the meals were excellent, and some of the most hearty / tasty we've had in Japan.
The establishment itself is a bit tired, though still lovely. The interior is very nice, but we did see some wood rot on some of the outside decks/balconies. Views from the main room are excellent - we were there over American Thanksgiving (late November) and were fortunate that foliage season was late that year. We also had a private onsen in our room, and were able to request the top floor when we made our booking; which was wonderful looking out on the foliage. The main room also has a great wood fire they light up at night - easy to fall asleep in front of after a hot soak and some sake at dinner plus a couple of drinks from the bar/snack cart they also roll out after dinner.
I forget the Japanese word at the moment, but the 'head-mistress' of the Byakudan speaks English very well, as well, as do many of the other staff.
Environment-wise, I'd say the one downside is the Byakudan has a great reputation for being very welcoming to non-Japanese, and that means you may be more likely to find some less considerate people there. We had a few kids running around willy-nilly and someone else taking a loud business call from the lounge at night; which wasn't ideal. We have not experienced anything like that at other ryokan in Japan.
I can't really compare the Byakudan to your other choices, having not stayed at them, besides saying that the Byakudan was our first time staying at a ryokan in Japan, we loved it, and it's started a much longer ryokan journey for us
Per Richard, it may not fit the luxury standard (given how it's a little tired; and lacks some amenities we've seen at other ryokans like sculpted gardens, etc.); but it is an excellent stay. Japanese guests like it a lot as well; we spoke for an hour with a Japanese lady and her mother who had been going to the Byakudan two to three times per year for several years, and were surprised we had 'discovered' it!
Hope that helps and happy to answer any questions.