Ashinomaki Onsen Ookawaso — Hotel in Aizuwakamatsu

It's a bit of a journey to get here, but it was well worth our time and effort. This place is so beautiful and relaxing. Food, service, ambiance....everything was top notch at this place.

Full transparency, we're big Demon Slayer fans so we came here after seeing this place on an Instagram reel and recognizing the uncanny resemblance to the Infinity Castle in Demon Slayer. If you're a fan of Demon Slayer like us, this is a place you don't want to miss out on. But even if you're not a fan of Demon Slayer, you will still enjoy this place!

The Kaiseki meal we had for dinner here was one of the best meals we had during our entire trip. It might as well have been called a buffet because they gave us so many dishes to eat. We felt incredibly stuffed, and the food was sooo good!

It was our first time staying in a traditional Japanese place like this. We were a bit taken aback when we returned to our room after dinner and noticed that someone had been in our room because the sliding door was closed and we had not closed it when we went to have dinner. When we slid open the door though, we realized that the only reason anyone had been in our room was to set up the beds for us! Our room had been transformed from a tatami room with a dining table for having tea, into a tatami room with three futon beds laid out! Once we got over the initial shock, we were thoroughly impressed!

Another thing we love about this place is that they offer the option of booking a private onsen. This is great for people like us who aren't comfortable with the idea of bathing nude in a public onsen with people we don't know. We made sure to email the hotel well in advance of our trip to Japan so that we could have a private onsen all to ourselves. We booked our private onsen for 9pm, which is the last slot of the day. It was super relaxing and a great way to end the day.

The breakfast buffet was very enjoyable too. First time ever at a Japanese style breakfast buffet. They feature a lot of locally made food and ingredients at this hotel. This was something I had noticed already during our Kaiseki meal the previous night. Many foods are made with "Aizu" honey, or "Aizu" rice....etc. My favourite part of the buffet was the fluffy eggs station where they put some egg whites (beaten until they have stiff peaks) and yolk into your bowl on top of some rice and torch the egg whites.

Our server at the Kaiseki meal was very friendly and helpful to us. The next morning, this same server was called upon to help us quite a number of times. It seemed that she was one of the few staff members who spoke English well enough to converse with us. Our daughter was so taken with her, that she made a "Thank You" note and drawing for the lady and handed it to her on our way out of the breakfast room!

Highly...

Finally able to return to Japan and decided to stay overnight at Ookawaso, a resort onsen ryokan at the outskirts of Aizuwakamatsu. The place is very popular with the locals and also famous for being the inspiration of the "Infinity Castle" setup in the Demon Slayer anime.

We stay at the spacious 宵待亭 room that offered splendid views of the forest koyo. While there are no in-room onsens at the resort, the outdoor onsens can be reserved for private use. There's only 2 of these available, so make sure to book in advance to avoid disappointment. Rates are ¥3,300 for 45 minutes usage.

There's also the free, gender segregated onsens. There's both indoor and outdoor baths available. Would highly recommend trying the outdoor terraced onsen during daylight hours as it offers an amazing view of the valley below.

For dinner, we choose the 県内産和牛 Wagyu beef kaiseki dinner set and were seated at the private 川どこ Kawadoko rooms. The food was ornately laid out for us by the time we arrived and were both a visual and gastronomical delight. I found it especially endearing that the staff took the effort to handwrite the entire menu in English for us.

There's a daily semisen performance from 4-6pm. I haven't seen this at any other ryokan and it really adds to the unique atmosphere. The in-house store is great and offers a very wide selection of local Aizu merchandise.

Breakfast is buffet style with free seating. Everything looks and taste fresh and is definitely worth waking up early for.

Lastly, the ryokan offers a free shuttle service to/from either Aizuwakamatsu or Ashinomakionsen station. Do check with the ryokan on the exact timings and make your shuttle...

I came here on a whim and a Google search for onsen in Aizu. I was blown away by how great it was. I did not stay the night in a room, I just visited the onsen. However, after doing so, I plan on coming back to stay here. The staff was extremely helpful and even though I was just visiting the hot springs, they brought over a translator for me to ensure I understood everything. She showed me where both locations of the springs were and ensured I had everything I needed. Total cost ¥1712 with towel rental and onsen tax. The hot springs themselves were marvelous. On one side of the building they have an indoor public bath and a three tiered outdoor bath that overlooks the mountains and river. It was gorgeous. They also have a mild temperature Himalayan pink salt sauna, which was great. On the opposite side of the hotel they have the 'Cliff side' baths which are two more outdoor pools. After enjoying the hot springs I waited in the lobby and enjoyed the live music performance. The shamisen player was splendid and created a calming and relaxed atmosphere in the lobby. As I was waiting for my ride to leave, the same translator found me in the lobby and asked if I enjoyed the hot springs, ensured I was able to visit both sides (normally the hot springs close at 5pm to those not staying at the hotel, but since I got there at 4:20 they let me stay longer to enjoy them), and asked if there was anything else she could do for me. This place is great, the service is fantastic, the hot springs were wonderful, and I will for sure be...