Yumoto Onsen OharaSansou — Attraction in Kyoto

Getting to the Onsen is a bit of a hike but was pretty easy to navigate. It's settled back into the hills/mountains about 30 minutes north of Kyoto station. We arrived on a rainy day and it was absolutely magical. The hills had mist rolling over them and it felt like we were walking through a Miyazaki film. The staff was attentive and spoke excellent English. The room was clean and had its own bathroom (no shower). We were in a tatami mat room and it was perfect for two people. The window opened up and overlooked their koi pond and had a good view of the hills (ask for room 211!). At dinner and breakfast the staff was, again, attentive and helpful. The meals were served in a traditional style (think Ryokan) and were quite tasty, though be prepared for an odd fish side dish or two. The baths themselves were also very nice. Men and women were separate and each bath had a traditional washing area where you clean up before getting into the bath. Each side had an indoor and outdoor bath as well. The only downside is the baths were pretty small and had a man-made feel versus some of the larger natural spring looking ones. This said, the water felt great on the skin and when we were there (a Monday) it wasn't too busy. I had the outdoor bath to myself for most of the time. Would definitely recommend this place for any budget (or even non budget) adventurers looking to...

Rooms are Japanese style and we stayed 2 nights including dinner and breakfast. They provided us with English instructions on how to use most things at the Onsen so everything was very easy to understand and it was particularly quiet there during our stay which gave us ample opportunity to learn what to do at our own pace without getting in anyone elses way.||||It is a traditional ryokan and you make up your own beds. There's ample clean bedding provided and we have a spectacular mountain view from our air-conditioned rooms. It also has super-fast wifi throughout the building! We found it to be a very comfortable and welcome break from our otherwise busy Japan trip.||||They have a total of 4 Onsen baths which was split into pairs of 1 indoor and 1 outdoor which rotate between genders depending on morning or afternoon. I found the outdoor rock pool onsen to be my favourite as it didnt feel quite as hot as the others.||||During the day you can travel around Ohara's sights and try the local ice cucumbers on a stick. Though honestly we got around everything in about 3-4 hours including lunch at a local restaurant (there's a lot of places to eat in Ohara!) and dessert at a cafe.||||All in all I would recommend staying here to others looking for a peaceful getaway from the cities for 1 to 2 days. Anything longer than that and you'll probably get bored...

Rooms are Japanese style and we stayed 2 nights including dinner and breakfast. They provided us with English instructions on how to use most things at the Onsen so everything was very easy to understand and it was particularly quiet there during our stay which gave us ample opportunity to learn what to do at our own pace without getting in anyone elses way.||||It is a traditional ryokan and you make up your own beds. There's ample clean bedding provided and we have a spectacular mountain view from our air-conditioned rooms. It also has super-fast wifi throughout the building! We found it to be a very comfortable and welcome break from our otherwise busy Japan trip.||||They have a total of 4 Onsen baths which was split into pairs of 1 indoor and 1 outdoor which rotate between genders depending on morning or afternoon. I found the outdoor rock pool onsen to be my favourite as it didnt feel quite as hot as the others.||||During the day you can travel around Ohara's sights and try the local ice cucumbers on a stick. Though honestly we got around everything in about 3-4 hours including lunch at a local restaurant (there's a lot of places to eat in Ohara!) and dessert at a cafe.||||All in all I would recommend staying here to others looking for a peaceful getaway from the cities for 1 to 2 days. Anything longer than that and you'll probably get bored...