Atami Juraku Hotel — Attraction in Atami

I chose Atami Juraku Hotel for the price and English-speaking staff. We were greeted immediately upon check-in with tea and small snacks, and taken to our room afterwards. Our 'nakai-san' was an elderly grandmother-type who spoke very little English, but we were able to communicate well enough with a mix of simple English and my elementary Japanese.||||The room was a bit outdated, but clean. The city view from the room was great. It had just stopped raining by the time we checked in, and there were some low-hanging clouds in the mountains--it was beautiful!||||The kaiseki was elaborate and seemingly endless. Most of the dishes were hit-or-miss however. I remember the shabu shabu being tasty--the chirashi was pretty disappointing. If you book the inclusive meal options, you can choose what time you'd like dinner and/or breakfast to be served.||||After dinner, we headed down to the onsen. There are separate facilities by gender, designated by the curtains at the entrance. I believe they switch each day or something? There were an indoor onsen, an outdoor onsen, and a sauna. We went later in the night, so nobody else was there. The onsen was relaxing, but the sauna was unbearably hot. We had some refreshing ice cream afterwards at the lobby cafe. Black sesame was a surprisingly good flavor.||||After returning, a room attendant came for turn-down service to set up the futons, and we had a comfortable night's rest. We woke up to have breakfast early the next morning. It was just as intricate as dinner. The chawanmushi was particularly delicious.||||We were given free beverage coupons, so we used those at check-out.||||All in all, it was a good ryokan experience for our first time. Service was attentive, but any foreigners looking to stay here should know at least basic Japanese phrases since the attendants might not know your language. Also if you've never been to an onsen before, make sure to research onsen etiquette beforehand because there aren't any signs or any people...

Stayed for a night with the family while visiting Atami and had a wonderful time. The room was pleasant, with a partial view of the ocean. The dinner kaiseki was delicious, with a dizzying number of dishes to try. Breakfast the next morning was also a vibrant circus of colors and flavors. What really blew us away was how elaborate even the children's meals were. The kids absolutely loved the different dishes that came out for them to try. The onsens provided a nice way to unravel the physical stresses of travel and city life. Service was amazing. Everyone on the staff we interacted with was courteous and accommodating. The ryokan is a short walk from the station, which made it great for exploring the stores around the JR station during the day (though the flip side is that it is a bit of a journey to get to the beach if you try to do...

Stayed for a night with the family while visiting Atami and had a wonderful time. The room was pleasant, with a partial view of the ocean. The dinner kaiseki was delicious, with a dizzying number of dishes to try. Breakfast the next morning was also a vibrant circus of colors and flavors. What really blew us away was how elaborate even the children's meals were. The kids absolutely loved the different dishes that came out for them to try. The onsens provided a nice way to unravel the physical stresses of travel and city life. Service was amazing. Everyone on the staff we interacted with was courteous and accommodating. The ryokan is a short walk from the station, which made it great for exploring the stores around the JR station during the day (though the flip side is that it is a bit of a journey to get to the beach if you try to do...