Hakone Ginyu
 

As part of my Trip Report in Japan and Korea, I am writing a review on Hakone Ginyu. I thought it would be good to have its own thread on this, so that in the future it can be referenced for ryokans in Hakone.

The review below can also be found as part of my Trip Report in Japan and Korea below.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip-...nh-y-oz-c.html

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Hakone Ginyu (箱根吟遊)

http://www.hakoneginyu.co.jp/english/main.html

http://www.ryokancollection.com/eng/...?ryokan=hakone

Hakone Ginyu (箱根吟遊): The Ryokan

Hakone Ginyu is a boutique luxury ryokan hotel in Hakone region. It only has 24 rooms in the facility but it is the top rated ryokan hotel by Tripadvisor in Hakone region. After reading all the reviews, I did have my hopes up for it. Of course the quality is reflected by the price range.

When we officially checked in, we were introduced by a dedicated staff to show all the facilities around the hotel.

We were allocated Keifu room (Kaze type) on fourth floor, it is 100 square metres large, and has private hot spring open air and indoor bath (total of two private onsens). Now I have never been to a ryokan but I thought it is very nice and impressive! My wife loved the private onsens so that we can enjoy the hot springs together.

The view to the mountains and valley is magnificent, especially after a rainy day. Whilst I live in the hills area anyway, it was a great way to experience ryokan.

The dinner and breakfast served by Hakone Ginyu is very extensive, delicious, and served by a dedicated staff who spoke excellent English. It will be reviewed in the next post.

We slept on the tatami made by the staff after dinner and had a great sleep and was comfortable. The three shared onsens in the hotel are great, and have few people in it (afterall it only has 24 rooms). I only saw Japanese people staying here apart from us.

It really was a wonderful place to stay, the whole time we felt VERY comfortable and had a really good experience. Even checking out on next day was great, we sat at the balcony having drinks, where they had dedicated staff going back and forth for signing off bills etc.

For anyone who loves luxury ryokan experience, I would highly recommend this hotel. Of course, it is not cheap, and we could only afford one night here. Bear in mind though, this place is highly popular and people found it very difficult to book without booking many month in advance.

Without going any further, here are the photos of Hakone Ginyu.

The Front door

http://i676.photobucket.com/albums/v...0/IMG_8640.jpg

Lobby and balcony

http://i676.photobucket.com/albums/v...0/IMG_8864.jpg

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http://i676.photobucket.com/albums/v...0/IMG_8755.jpg

The bar
http://i676.photobucket.com/albums/v...0/IMG_8804.jpg

Keifu room (Kaze type)
http://i676.photobucket.com/albums/v...0/IMG_8765.jpg

http://i676.photobucket.com/albums/v...0/IMG_8779.jpg

http://i676.photobucket.com/albums/v...0/IMG_8789.jpg

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http://i676.photobucket.com/albums/v...0/IMG_8944.jpg

http://i676.photobucket.com/albums/v...0/IMG_9002.jpg

Private Onsens
http://i676.photobucket.com/albums/v...0/IMG_8786.jpg

http://i676.photobucket.com/albums/v...0/IMG_8997.jpg

Shared Onsens in Hakone Ginyu
http://i676.photobucket.com/albums/v...0/IMG_8872.jpg

http://i676.photobucket.com/albums/v...0/IMG_8957.jpg

http://i676.photobucket.com/albums/v...0/IMG_8876.jpg


NEXT: Hakone Ginyu (箱根吟遊): Review: Part 2: The dinner and breakfast experience

Hakone Ginyu (箱根吟遊): Review: Part 2: The dinner and breakfast experience
 

Hakone Ginyu (箱根吟遊): Review: Part 2: The dinner and breakfast experience

Hakone Ginyu Dinner

Well one of the big things about staying in Ryokan is their dinner and breakfast. I had to say that Hakone Ginyu provided an extensive dinner and breakfast during the stay. It is a series of small but delicious courses. The whole dinner lasted almost two hours, and was brought in by a dedicated staff who spoke excellent English. She explained everything about the food. In a way, I was overwhelmed by all the courses and how they were all delicately preprared. Needless to say, they are all very delicious and we had a good time! But here are the photos!

Dinner Menu in English
http://i676.photobucket.com/albums/v...0/IMG_9000.jpg

Dinner Menu in Japanese
http://i676.photobucket.com/albums/v...0/IMG_8933.jpg

Sake
http://i676.photobucket.com/albums/v...0/IMG_8888.jpg

Dinner (yep, 1 dinner)
http://i676.photobucket.com/albums/v...0/IMG_8882.jpg

http://i676.photobucket.com/albums/v...0/IMG_8887.jpg

http://i676.photobucket.com/albums/v...0/IMG_8890.jpg

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http://i676.photobucket.com/albums/v...0/IMG_8911.jpg

http://i676.photobucket.com/albums/v...0/IMG_8919.jpg

http://i676.photobucket.com/albums/v...0/IMG_8930.jpg

http://i676.photobucket.com/albums/v...0/IMG_8934.jpg

Hakone Ginyu Breakfast

We decided to choose Japanese breakfast (over western one) when checking in. Afterall we want to try just about everything Japanese. Whilst it is not as extensive as the dinner, it still has lot of courses, we were not disappointed.

http://i676.photobucket.com/albums/v...0/IMG_9010.jpg

http://i676.photobucket.com/albums/v...0/IMG_9015.jpg

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http://i676.photobucket.com/albums/v...0/IMG_9025.jpg

http://i676.photobucket.com/albums/v...0/IMG_9026.jpg

Overall the food is fantastic! What more can I say!

END OF REVIEW.

Thanks for sharing. I am looking at this exact place for my upcoming trip. I wonder if this place is hard to find? This may be stupid question but is there cable TV in the room? Thanks.

That place looks great and the meals do too -- what did it cost for 2 people per night including breakast and dinner?