Hakone-Gora Byakudan — Hotel in Hakone

We (two couples) stayed here three nights as part of a two-week-long Japan trip. We had booked and pre-paid for the rooms in October for an April stay, and if memory serves these were the only rooms left for all three dates, so this ryokan is understandably very popular!||We very much loved our stay. The main lobby area is serene, with gorgeous views: a perfect spot to enjoy coffee and complimentary sparkling wine in the morning and a nightcap (wines and cordials for the grownups and a giant box of every kind of Japanese candy you can think of for the candy lovers) by the fire at night. The beautifully plated kaiseki dinners and breakfasts were visually stunning and elaborate, delicious spreads that varied from day to day. (There is a “community” dining area with tables separated by canvas barricades, and several private dining rooms, one of which we moved to after the first day, more on that later.) They accommodated our vegan member of the party very well. The only issue we found for us is that the wines on the menu that weren’t their “house” wines were wildly expensive; however, the house wines were absolutely fine. ||We got complimentary shuttle rides to and from the train and bus stations during our stay. This was great, although we’d suggest that if you are leaning toward driving in Japan, this might be the area of the country to do it in, as it’s beautiful and you can avoid waiting for public transportation. (The switchback train on the Tozan line is pretty awesome, though!)||Staff were all lovely, with a special shoutout to Saki, who is fantastic and a huge asset to the Byakudan.||We didn’t use the public onsens on the property as one of the main reasons we booked this property was to enjoy our private onsens. ||Wifi was pretty slow, but we weren’t here to hang out on our phones. ;)| |Our two original rooms (one of which was on the top floor and one of which was on the ground floor) were very quiet at night, tastefully decorated, with comfortable seating, super comfy beds and pillows, great temperature control, wonderful water (go figure!), great shower temperature and pressure, and of course a beautiful onsen with gorgeous views. We loved our private outdoor space. ||We had a major noise issue with the other guests right below us, who brought their three young children, one of whom was 2, along with one very noisy squeaky toy for three nights as well. We would have thought that the price point (as well as all the Byakudan’s marketing materials, reviews, etc) would have dissuaded folks from thinking that a luxury ryokan with private onsens and an emphasis on relaxation and serenity equals fun noisy family time in your own private kiddie pool, but apparently not.||How the staff managed our complaints, along with a little scheduling luck, made this review a 5 star review instead of a 2 star review, as they did move us to the Jin room for the remainder of our stay and moved our group of 4 to a private dining space, away from mealtime shrieking. The Jin room was a very nice, very large suite away from the others, and while we missed the lovely view, the peace and quiet (and the giant onsen) more than made up for it. ||So, we would say that if peace and quiet are important to you, we would book the Jin room, or have a serious conversation with management before booking to confirm that no large families with young children will be next to you. It still floors us that the Byakudan doesn’t have a minimum age policy, which is quite common in luxury properties around the world. We’re all for well-behaved kids (one of us having raised four of them) and of course know that families need their fun time, but we’re not sure why anyone would think that this is the appropriate place. ||Aside from that major issue, we did love our time at the Byakudan and would recommend it with...

LOCATION: Five words – in the middle of nowhere – which is great if you are staying in your room the entire time, but terrible if you want to explore the town. If you like to walk to shops, sights, a restaurant, café—or walk to anything—this is not the place for you. Even going to 7-Eleven is a 30-minute drive.||||CHECK-IN: Two words – absolute nightmare! After a 2-hour train ride and another 50-minute car ride, the one thing I want to do when arriving at a hotel is get to my room as quickly as possible. Not possible here. This hotel greets you by rudely demanding you take your shoes off even before you put your bags down, then forcefully escorts you to sit on a couch in the lobby for 32 minutes like a prisoner while they run off with your passports and credit card. This check-in process also involves hot tea and an unidentifiable sugar cube of mush in the shape of a marijuana leaf. Perhaps it would have been nice if I knew this was going to be a long, drawn-out thing in advance—but I didn’t expect it, and it was awful after a long and exhausting journey.||||ROOM: Four words – No blackout shades. The sun rises at 4:37 a.m., so that is when you’re waking up! The shower is 100% glass—zero privacy—which may be great for a couple, but my teen boys were not into it at all. Air conditioning is good if you can get it to work—the remote is in Japanese, and the one-page instructions read like an IKEA DIY project. There are three different kinds of slippers for each person, for a total of six pairs, which is confusing and messy. Speaking of messy—cords, empty boxes, knickknacks, and small appliances are strewn everywhere. There is hardly a clean surface to put your stuff down near the sink.||||PRIVATE ONSEN: Four words – Highlight of the stay. The room had a small backyard, neatly manicured with green moss and shrubs, and a hot spring–fueled tub. The water is warm and not too hot; the backyard is outdoors yet very private.||||DINNER: Three words – Go somewhere else! The Kaiseki dinner is eight courses and steals two hours of your life. The only edible course was three pieces of meat—each the size of one Starburst candy square—that you had to cook yourself. The sorbet tastes like lemon rind. Needless to say, we were starving and had a better dinner at the local 7-Eleven.||||BREAKFAST: One word – YUK! Assorted fish filets that you must cook yourself, rice, bad soup, and yogurt.||||ICE CREAM: Three words – Not even close. When you check in, they will tell you they have "ice cream." They don’t. They have rock-hard, ice cube–sized pellets of something that may resemble chocolate ice cream—if you’ve never had chocolate ice cream before.||||SERVICE: Two words - Not friendly. We stayed at three hotels during our trip to Japan, ate at many restaurants and went in many shops - the only unfriendly people we met in the entire country of Japan were at this hotel. Beware of the grumpy guy at the door who roughly demands your shoes before you enter the building. When you can find someone at the front desk (which is difficult, because they disappear when you need help) are very rude and act like they are doing you a favor just by speaking to you. And don't even get me started about the rude women who aggressively herd you to the couch during the...

Byakudan is lovely. The room I booked looked like the photos, and the open air bath with a view of green forest was wonderful. ||This is a two-star review mostly because of the food, but I did run into a couple of other small issues.||Wasps kept buzzing around me in the bath. At first I tried to ignore them, but eventually I realized that they were trying to build a nest somewhere in the floorboards. So I went to ask the staff for help & they grabbed a can of spray, followed me back to my room, and proceeded to spray clouds of wasp killer all around the patio and bath. ||I feel like the benefits of soaking in onsen water might be slightly outweighed by the negative effects of breathing clouds of bug spray. ||Thanks to jetlag, I was waking up early throughout my trip. On both mornings when I went down to the lobby to get coffee, because the machine there is a little better than the one in the rooms, the lobby machine was jammed or non-functional. Ryokans are supposed to be about attending to every detail, and this was the sort of small nuisance I don't expect to encounter at a $$$ hotel. ||Mostly, I had a problem with the meals. I reserved six months in advance and stated clearly in my reservation that I'm a vegetarian. Other reviews have mentioned that Byakudan accommodates vegetarians and I never received any communication to the contrary from Byakudan.||TLDR: Byakudan does not accommodate vegetarians.||When I sat down for my first kaiseki meal, they basically served me hospital food. Very simple, very plain, no seasonings, no spices, no sauces, all food that an invalid could eat. No strong flavors, no unusual ingredients. One course was just a whole steamed onion. With, as seasoning, a tiny amount of olive oil.||I told the staff the next morning that I'd eat my second dinner somewhere else. It was my last dinner in Japan and I wanted to enjoy it. But that made everyone upset so they went back and forth with the chef and then convinced me that they'd mix things up for the second evening, and do better.||That second dinner was so much worse. I didn't get any interesting ingredients, or any spices, or any strong flavors. Instead, they served me a salad with Italian dressing. An omelette with ketchup. They gave me a little pot of American-style potato salad like you'd find in a gallon tub at your local grocery store. This wasn't a chef who didn't know how to cook for a vegetarian--it was intentionally insulting. There's something really humiliating about paying for an insult--and I'd prepaid with my booking, so my choices were to eat or go hungry.||I get that people are simmering with hostility toward Americans lately, but I felt so unwelcome, so insulted, and so heartbroken to have this experience that I'd looked forward to for months...