Ikkoten — Attraction in Yufu

Where do I even begin? If you find yourself researching this Ryokan, great job.

As some say - "what you pay is what you get" but sometimes it's not worth the value despite crazy prices. I dare say this place has exceeded our expectations for the reasons below -

(1) You get almost extreme privacy given that there are only 10 huts / rooms. (2) You are literally in the middle of the woods. You hear birds chirping in the morning and if you are lucky, some harmless deers in the vicinity. (3) you get exceptional service. When we first arrived, the serviceman was standing and waiting for us at the carpark, and showed us to the room. (4) You get an exceptional view of Mt Yufu in the comfort of your room. (5) you can choose to do in room onsen, or do the family bath (onsen) if you are travelling in a big group. You can do both - which is what we did. (6) You get quality dinner served - but you have to order in advance. Just email them. We did the wagyu and sashimi course - brilliant. They also do birthday celebration too. (7) you get complementary breakfast - which by the way comes with multiple courses. (8) Everything in the mini fridge is complimentary. The only negative is they charge bottled water at 200 yen each. (9) they have complimentary drinks at the 'library' from 3-530pm (10) there is a bar in the Ryokan but we didn't manage to check it out

It is a matter of when but not if - the next time we visit Yufuin and stay in Ikkoten....

We (5 adults and 2 kids) stayed one night in Villa Touou. 2 staffers were already meeting us at the parking area who also directed us to drive to the villa right away. The check in was just done swiftly in the villa where the kids can settle down easily. The welcome snack was so delicious I regret I didn't finish the ones my other family members didn't consume.||||There was one standalone bedroom with 2 double beds facing a toilet (without bath). Then the master bedroom is connected to 1 tatami area and 1 tatami attic. With 7 of us, Ikkoten already set up 2 sets of mattresses in the attic and another 1 in the tatami area. ||||With kids in a rainy weather, we appreciated a lot that the front desk called us before they drove to pick us up to head to the dining room. I guess each room/villa had their own private dining room. ||||Only complaint is that our cars had to park a bit further up slope than the villa. And upon check out, while we were hoping we could drive our car to the front of the villa so that we could load our luggage easier, the hotel amenity car decided to restock our villas and occupied the front space of the villa. ||||While we enjoyed the comfortable living room at night with our whole family, we also wished to try the smaller room where the in-room onsen could also enjoy the fantastic view. The onsen in Villa Touou does not...

We stayed here for three days and have come away from the experience feeling utterly spoiled and about 5 kilos heavier.||||The breakfasts and dinners that come with the half board are delectable and about 8 courses each. Don't eat lunch while you are here! It's a delightful marathon of mini dishes all made with local ingredients and traditional Kyushu recipes - the chef is masterful. (Masanori and Shin Ji looked after us with welcoming, friendly efficiency and took real pride in their hospitality and had good English - Arigatōgozaimashita!!)||||The place is impeccably designed, each of the dwellings is different with its own hot tub bathing area fed by the hot springs of the area. Every little detail of the place has been beautifully thought through, with visual delights around every little corner (I very much enjoyed eating in a different private dining room for each of the 6 meals we had here). ||||The fact that Ikkoten is a little bit out of town (25 minute walk down into town) definitely works to their advantage as the town isn't that pretty and being that little bit higher up the mountain means the views are spectacular and the air quality is heavenly.||||I would come back in a...