Originally Posted by
Smiley90
Quoting this older post for reference, but there's been several posts in this thread on Yufuin, including some reviews. So here's a more... philosophical question - In some locations, the pick is fairly obvious. E.g. we'll be visiting Kyusho for 5-6 days next November and doing a mix of hotels and Ryokans. Somewhere like Onyado Chikurintei is a no-brainer for close to Nagasaki, both because of the beauty & location with the timing of late November, but also because of the lack of same-caliber competition... but how do you go about picking something for Yufuin? All of these look beautiful to me, and because we're so far out, I don't anticipate we'll run into booking issues just yet when the timing to book these comes around. Aside from pricing and pictures of the food&rooms, the latter of which is... difficult to ascertain differences sometimes because they're all stunning? I'm curious to hear of the ones you've been to, if you have a personal favourite for e.g. food / service / room or how you recommend evaluating these without having been!
I've only been to Sanso Murata (twice), Enowa Yufuin and Kamenoi Besso, although I last visited the latter a long time ago. Even just a decade ago, Yufuin was not the crazy popular place that it is now, and many of the top properties opened quite recently. I go by word of mouth from a network of luxury ryokan acquaintances, along with a ton of my own research. They are all quite different, and each have their own unique pros and cons. For instance, Enowa Yufuin has incredible cuisine, but it's farm-to-table fare and not classic Japanese (if that's important to you) and only the top two room categories have the wondrous views of the valley - and they're extremely pricey. Kamenoi Besso is the original luxury Yufuin inn, but the cheaper rooms are on the small side and don't have onsen (the higher category suites have both indoor and outdoor bath that is in its own garden and surrounded by lush vegetation). The service at Sanso Murata is second to none and has killer cuisine; however, it has no view of any sort whatsoever, and the grounds here are "natural" (no garden and everything is left to its own elements).
I would like to try some of the others but it won't be for a while - lots to explore in the country. We'll be in Yufuin next November and will be staying at Kamenoi Besso and Gekkoju Yufuin. The latter has contemporary design/decor, contemporary Japanese cuisine and the base room is 133 square meters, so there are no compromises. Curiously, Gekkoju is somewhat less expensive than Enowa or Sanso Murata when comparing similar-sized rooms. That said, Mrs. KI-NRT still dreams of Enowa's food and Sanso Murata's overall service and vibe, so it's a tough choice!