Ogawaya Onsen Hotel — Hotel in Gero

Our actual hotel room was a western style room and was in the more modern wing of the hotel. The room itself was nice and had it been day time, there would have been a lovely view of the river running through Gero. The actual hotel itself and the service left a LOT to be desired. It's actually like a rabbit warren with so many levels and elevators that you need to take even to get out the building. We got lost inside the hotel so many times. Whoever designed this place drank waaaay too much sake. It's like they joined 3 old hotels together. To get out of our room to outside, we had to get a lift down, walk through the hotel and get another lift to the ground floor as our lift didn't take us to the ground floor. The most annoying part was that upon check in - we weren't told about any of the hotel services or in particular that you actually have to book the private onsens in advance. So when we came down at 6pm to ask about how we could use the private onsens - they said they were all booked out for the evening. So, i asked, can we book one for the morning and they said that the private onsens aren't for use in the morning before check out time. Half the point of us booking this hotel was so that we could come and have a nice quiet private onsen experience. So basically we paid a premium for this hotel for this reason and didn't even get to use the service that we came for. Nothing is mentioned (in english anyway) in the rooms themselves about needing to book a private onsen in advance. We did end up using the public hotel onsen which was quite nice. Disappointingly though the "outdoor" onsen doesn't have any sort of view and is mostly covered in, except for a gap at the top of the screen to allow outside air in. In order to get to these outdoor onsen there's some quite dodgy and steep stairs which you have to traverse with bare feet. So if you're a little unstable or elderly - keep that in mind. The actual hotel is quite old and I think we were lucky that we got an updated room. The rest of the hotel looks like it was THE place to be maybe 20 years ago - but now it just looks old fashioned. If I ever came back to Gero - I definitely wouldn't choose to stay here. If anybody is wondering if they should come and stay in Gero - it's a nice little town - but i would personally skip it and go straight to Takayama down the road - or go and check out Gujo Hachiman not far from here. We ended up driving to Gujo and back 3 times in 3 days because it...

Booked via JAPANiCAN for a 2 nights stay. |Pre check-in communication wasn’t too good. There was no option to communicate directly with the hotel via JAPANiCAN. When I asked for assistance from JAPANiCAN to convey my room requests and assistance for restaurant reservations - Response was they don’t do that. But at least they found the hotel’s email address for me. First attempt with the email didn’t get a response. A while later I wrote a simplified version, which I was relieved to receive a response. ||Shuttle pick-up/drop off at Gero Station|Good mini bus with luggage storage at the back. ||Check-in|We arrived 1 hour before check-in. Had their free OJ and coffee plus soaked in the foot Onsen to recuperate 😁 then went out for a short while. |We were given a room on the 7th floor - top floor of Hogetsuso (the furthest from the main building). ||Room|Was informed by the hotel my room isn’t a renovated room. However, I’m very happy with its condition. The walkway from the lift to my room gives off a welcoming and good vibe. The passageway from the main building to Hogetsuso is a bit dingy but not too bad. |Room is large Japanese style. View was not bad - View of the town center and canal. |So happy with the mattress - Really comfortably thick, not those old thin futon. There are of course more bedding stored in the cupboard. ||Breakfast |Quite extensive. ||Onsen|Nice. Tried Sen which gives off luxury vibes. But I always prefer open air bath, which is lovely here. ||Location |Main reason why I chose Ogawaya. I’d also shortlisted 2 other ryokans beside here. However, they are not as central despite costing more. So glad of my choice. A konbini just few steps away, bus stop, majority of restaurants… ||Conclusion |Definitely I would repeat my stay at Ogawaya if I ever return to Gero Onsen. Staffs were very friendly and some...

I wanted to stay in Takayama for the Spring Festival but even 6 months prior, there was nothing available. So decided to stay in Gero, which is a 45 minute train ride from Takayama, and commuted there both days of the festival. Ogawaya spa resort is a large hotel complex with both Japanese style and western rooms. They have a meal plan which you can opt out of when you reserve or buy random meals at the front desk when you arrive. Gero is a spa town which means most of the restaurants don’t stay open past 6:00pm. I found the the nearby Lawson Station to be my best dinner option, taking the food back to my room. ||The facility has first rate onsen facilities, the bread and butter of Gero. In my western style room there was no shower or bath, emphasizing the point of what you’re there for. As a whole the public areas are a mishmash of styles and tastes, with aesthetic Japanese furnishings and art in one view and dated 1970’s contemporary looks elsewhere, especially in the enormous lobby. ||Staff are friendly and helpful and at least enough English is spoken to get your needs expressed if not always entirely understood. The best feature are its views of the river and easy 10 minute walk to the train station. All in all, a good alternative to busy,...