Hyakurakuso — Attraction in Noto

We spent 2 nights at Hyakurakuso in mid May. Upon arrival, we were actually taken aback coz the main entrance doors to the hotel looked like they needed upkeep. And, as we were following the staff to our room, we passed by a utility room the door of which was a bit beaten up too. Such sightings are rare for supposedly higher grade ryokans in Japan. However, our concerns were allayed as we entered our room. We booked a semi-western style room with private outdoor bath. The room was beautiful with a lovely view of Tsukumo Bay and I loved the hot outdoor bath which opened out to the balcony. Mini-bar was complimentary and if I remembered correctly, the hotel left us a box of Japanese candies each day. During one of the 2 nights of our stay, we had dinner in a private room at the restaurant adjacent to the bay. The ambience was nice and tranquil, above all, we were allowed to feed our leftover sashimi to the heron and other birds which were cutely waiting to be fed outside :))||There's a trail along the bay whereby you could take a leisure stroll. The entrance to the trail was outside the hotel's parking lot. Hotel staff were friendly in general but a young lady named 岩池 was particularly kind and helpful. When we checked out, a gentleman at the reception informed us that they would deduct JPY2000 from our bill if we came by rental car which we did. ||There was a small hiccup on our departure day. That morning we went to the restaurant in the basement (next to the bay) for breakfast. There were already a significant number of guests (tour group?) in the main dining hall and there was only one server meandering around the tables. After waiting for 10 minutes at the reception we were finally shown to our private room. Some dishes were already placed on the table (as is customary). Customarily they would bring in the subsequent courses as the meal moves along. But no. Nothing came. No more food other than what were already there before we entered the room. And no server ever showed up to tend to us after we were done with the initial courses, which was really strange. We had to ring the service bell and one older lady came. She looked more like a person clearing dishes and cleaning tables rather than a server. We tried to tell her by sign language that there should be more food coming, she kept shaking her head and hands and we didn't know what she meant. Based on what we were served during the previous day's breakfast, at least half of the courses were missing. We stayed 2 nights, same plan same room rates so there shouldn't be any difference. Plus, the breakfast ordeal at nicer Japanese ryokans is usually quite elaborate. What we had that morning was definitely not "it"! Plus, it was very strange that there was no menu provided upfront, usually the menu for breakfast or dinner would be printed elegantly on beautiful Japanese paper and placed on the table. And we never saw our server!!!! Some time elapsed and we rang the bell again, the same lady showed up…Futile to complain, we gave up and left. ||Anyhow we had a very nice stay except for the unexplainable...

We had a 3 night stay at this luxury ryokan on Noto Peninsula. We hired a car in Kanazawa and it took about 2.5 hours to drive to the remote spot on the Noto coast. The views over the calm inlet are so beautiful and this is the perfect place to relax and unwind. It’s a modern resort, so lacks the charm of some older buildings but it also means the rooms and balconies are designed to enjoy the view. There were a few lovely and unusual touches, such as a choice if pretty yukata designs for women and fresh fruit and Japanese sweets in the room. The food was amazing - the most beautiful presentation and very plentiful, not surprisingly with a focus on fish and seafood. We ate breakfast and dinner in both the dockside dining room and in the 1st floor private rooms. There didn’t seem to be the option to choose- we were allocated a location for each meal. It would have been nice to have had one of the private dining rooms on the water but we weren’t given one during our stay. Perhaps if we had spoken Japanese, we could have asked. Staff here speak less English than at other places we have stayed, so communication was limited. There are 3 options for taking a bath. We particularly enjoyed the private baths, which can be reserved for a 50 min slot. The only downside was difficulty getting a slot as there are only 2 and they were very popular. We managed to have 2 visits over the 3 days. The other baths swap between men and women at different times of the day. Both were nice but we liked the cave bath best as the individual hot tubs were outside. The view from the scenic bath was blurred due to the steamy windows. There is a lovely little walk from the ryokan, down a flight of steps from the car park. It is a nature trail, with the path a series of stepping stones in the sea. They have a map at reception but it would be hard to get lost as you just follow the shore. There are also comfy seats down by the water, so you can relax enjoying the peace and the...

Access is difficult as it is in a remote area. I took a flight from Tokyo which is the easiest option but once you land it’s still an hour away. Both buses and taxies were cash only. My bus left when I went to the ATM to withdraw cash. I managed to get on my bus at last with the help of another bus. You should use a taxi when coming instead.

Arrival experience was subpar and service mostly was mediocre to rude which is a shame since there a few exceptional staff here. They retrieved my phone which I lost on the bus for which I am very grateful for. Checking in took a long time and English was limited. The view in my room wasn’t as good as advertised, and there were no onsen or balcony.

I was not impressed with the dinner at all. It was definitely one of my worst ryokan dinners ever. The breakfast was equally a let down. Once, the waitress even accidentally splashed water into my food and didn’t notice. Coffee at breakfast was for a fee which felt like nickel and diming. The hotel was small but housed 26 rooms. The best ryokans have less than 15 rooms to feel more personal.

There is not much to do during the day. Trails around the water was closed and there is a very long walkway if you want to walk outside the hotel. The area was dead. On my departure day, I could only take a shared taxi very early to the airport since I didn’t have enough cash and there is no ATM on site or anywhere near. I did enjoy the cave bath, the various baths and the pier very much. Ameneties inside the room was lacking. They didn’t have any skin care, the toothbrush was rough and there was only one towel. All of the yukatas have a stench of sweat.

The ryokan felt very old and tired. And for the price it charges at ~60k a night, there are far better options. The guests are mostly older, domestic clientele but didn’t look wealthy. If you are a first time visitor to Japan, I don’t think coming here is necessary as it is...