As a follow up to my last post, we have done another Ryokan trip for Xmas 2025. We have now become almost addicted to it, and to which we place our blame squarely on Keita for getting us hooked

Having such good experiences with Fufu last time round, we set off to try another couple of Fufu hotels, alongside with some of KI-NRT's suggestions here and a new Ryokan near Hiroshima.

Fufu Nara (2 nights) - 5/5
We started the last with the holy grail of Fufu hotels, Fufu Nikko, and we tried our best to keep the expectations low since it's pretty hard to top that.

As we arrived at the hotel, the staff at reception already came out to welcome us just like the Nikko one. And as the parking lot is quite a bit smaller, the staff here also double up as a valet as well. Since we were a big group of 6 adults, after the staff unloaded our bags, they attentively checked with us which bags belong in the same room.

Check-in was done in the privacy of a big cubicle in the bar area. We were promptly shown to our rooms and given the room tours, and our luggage was already correctly set up in the rooms (you will see why this is important later). We booked for the lowest category stylish suites, and they were all spacious and each could seat 6 adults in the sitting room comfortably. The outdoor free-flowing onsen was great as well.

Getting to the restaurant requires a 5-minute walk downhill, which could be slippery in rainy conditions especially in the Japanese Geta and socks. But worry not, they had an Alphard that would chauffeur you to and from the restaurant. And given the high standards here, they have staff waiting for you with umbrellas to ensure not a single drop of rain will land on you. We had opted for Kaiseki on the first night and Teppanyaki on the second night, and both were equally delicious. I would say we prefer the decor and food at Fufu Nikko slightly, but still everything here is of very high standard. We had a Taiwanese staff, Miss Lin, on the last day, and she was one of the best hotel staff we have ever had. She was proactive, attentive, considerate and friendly and made sure we were all comfortable, happy and well taken care of.

Another example of great service would be the front desk staff, who are always polite and smiley to greet anyone who came in or left the hotel. When I left my room key in the car, I explained my stupidity to the staff. I was expecting to be given the car key so I could go retrieve it myself. Instead she ran out to the carpark in the rain to fetch the key for me before I could even react.

We did wonder why the restaurant was a bit removed from the hotel, and as it turned out, the restaurant area was a historic garden with a very nice tea-house. When me and my partner ventured in, just so happened a very kind Japanese lady was also touring the house. She translated the whole tour to us and explained the historical stories about the design of the tea house. If you visit here and if the tea house is open for visit, I’d highly recommend a visit.

All-in-all we absolutely loved our time here and would rank it as one of the top Fufu hotels, perhaps just a touch below Nikko, but still very high up there nonetheless. Everyone here tried very hard.

Room tips: IMO any room here is fine, there’s no bad room to be had. We had stylish suites 104-106 and they all enjoyed different designs and are all superb in their own way.







Yunohana Suisen Resort (1 night) - 4/5
We always consider going to Fufu hotels a quasi-ryokan, it’s more of an hotel that had the features and characteristics of an onsen ryokan in an unique but fun way. The next hotel we visited was a delightful traditional experience.

Upon arrival, we were greeted with Matcha and Wagashi and a choice of Yukata. The staff here are all very experienced, and the fact that not all of them have a good command of English, added to the authentic feeling to it. The service here was fantastic and the staff do try very hard and are very warm. We loved the traditional design of the rooms, we stayed at the top level Suite suite which was spacious and came with a massage chair, and two of the western style room with open-air bath. Since we are a big group, the top level suite made sense, but otherwise I think any room with an open-air bath would suffice. The food was more to our liking, especially my wife’s, as it contained more vegetables and was of the right quantity. We had a lovely stay here and think this is a great option to experience an onsen ryokan that is very close to Kyoto.







Fufu Kyoto (1 night) - 3/5
If Fufu Nara was close to Fufu Nikko in experience, then Fufu Kyoto would be similar to Fufu Kyu-Karuizawa, which was on the opposite end.

Upon arrival, there was no one to be found. We had to go inside to flag someone down to help with our luggages, and out came a skinny young lady staff. Being the gentlemen we were, we opted to handle the unloading ourselves. As it was 14:35, we were told check-in wasn’t ready, which was fair enough, so we went for a stroll at the Heian Shrine nearby. When we came back for the check-in, all the luggages disappeared and when we got to the room, they were just randomly distributed. How this could have happened is beyond me, and to make matters worse, the staff who showed us the room could not understand English. So we ended up moving all the luggages ourselves, which usually isn’t bad, but since we were very careful not to roll them onto the in-room area (where you have to take your shoes off), carrying them into and out of different rooms was extra troublesome.

Okay, onto the room itself. In true Asian style, we again cheap out and booked the cheapest rooms available to us, which were two Stylish Suites and one Comfortable Suite. How do i put it….since 1st floor was actually underground, the rooms were quite dark and the ceiling was very low, so it was in fact not very comfortable to lounge in. Both the bathroom and the toilet area was also very small, which made us felt right back at home like the tiny apartments in HK! Bonus points for nostalgia but probably not what we were after. To their credit, shower, bath and bed were very comfortable and for the very low price it charged it was certainly acceptable in a city like Kyoto. We only stayed for bed and breakfast here and the food we had was decent.

Room Tips: Having said that, I took a look again at KI-NRT's top level suite, and it looked infinitely better. Unlike most other Fufu hotels, I think room category really matters a lot here a LOT. Make sure you don't skimp out and make the same mistake I did!

we had comfortable suite 101 and stylish suites 102-103. Do NOT book rooms on the 1st floor, unless you love living in the basement




Ryokan Nishiyama, Onomichi, Hiroshima (1 night) - 5/5
Being out in a suburban area with not a lot of famous sites nearby, we did not know what to expect for this one. Pre-arrival communications were however great and emails were always promptly replied to.

Upon arrival, we were warmly received by the manager, Son. He led us to the reception area which doubled up as a lounge for guests. The design here is stunning. Again matcha and snacks were provided. In the lounge, snacks, juices, sake, beer, whisky, gin were all complimentary all day. So we helped ourselves to a self organised sakes tasting here at the Ryokan!

For the rooms, we booked 4 different room types - Wara, Matsuzake, Asahi, Sakura. Wara and Matsuzake were standalone houses, and were my wife’s favourite room type. They were extremely spacious at 81 and 63 sqm each. Asahi and Sakura are both in the same building, and the connecting door can be opened upon request. I personally loved Asahi, the 1st floor room the most, as the sitting room had a great view of the hotel’s lovely garden. Sakura downstairs had the best layout and bathroom though.

For meals, since we are a group of 10, our dinner was served in a private room in their banquet hall in the old wing. The food was modern Japanese French cuisine, and they even provided wine pairing for the menu! All the drinks were free of charge, unless you went for the wine menu. I did not get to see the wine list, but I saw some Cristal, Gaja, some Burgundy and Bordeaux in the wine cellar, so it was surprisingly quite well stocked. I was a big fan of the food, but my wife who is a more picky eater, didn’t enjoy it as much somehow. Breakfast was served in the main restaurant and was a more traditional fanfare.

This is one of the highlight ryokan of the trip to our surprise, and I would highly recommend anyone who is in the area or is travelling through the area to stay at least a night here. Service was extremely high level and F&B was equally great. The rooms are in immaculate conditions and I would not hesitate to return.









Now that this trip is done, I shall get onto the planning on Xmas trip for this year. While I am at that, I wish everyone here at FT a very happy new year and all the best in 2026