Tōnosawa Ichinoyu Honkan — Hotel in Hakone

Yes, it's an old hotel but that's part of the charm. We would choose something like this over a newer hotel. We reserved the rooms with private onsens which had their own outdoor onsen just outside of our rooms along the river. It was amazing.||The website was easy to navigate in English. We upgraded to the premium dinner plan which included a sashimi boat for four of us and all you can drink drinks. The dinner was wow...yum...shabu shabu with an appetizer of all kinds of good stuff, steamed vegetables, the sashimi boat, we added on a side order of lobster sashimi. It was so much food, we tried our best but could not finish it all. The service was great. You are assigned a table and that's the same table you eat every meal at.||This place is located relatively near Hakone-Yumoto station but not so close that you end up with tons of people walking by. ||The staff were very helpful. the younger gentleman helped me complete the kuroneko luggage transport forms and our luggage reached our next hotel successfully. He also called us a taxi to get back to the station. There is a bus stop several feet from the hotel so we were able to catch the Hakone bus with our Freepass to the hotel the first night. ||We had our luggage sent to Tonosawa and they had it waiting in our room.||The private onsen rooms we had were tatami mat style...surprisingly large. There were two closets...one with our bedding...they don't lay the bedding out for you, which was fine for us. The other closet was smaller and for clothing. There was a mini fridge, a TV, a sitting table, a couple of Japanese style (sit on the floor) chairs, split A/C/heater which we made good use of as it was still a bit chilly. There was a decent sized sitting room with a small table and two western style chairs. The bathroom was fairly large with limited counterspace. There was a indoor furo or bathtub with a shower hose. ||The private onsen was really what we went to Hakone for. We've stayed at hotels where you can reserve the outdoor onsens after dinner for some private time..but usually you have to reserve it the day you arrive and hope you get a good time slot. This was worth the higher nightly fee. After dinner, we unpacked and then enjoyed our private onsen at our leisure. It was awesome to hear the river running while relaxing in our onsen. In the morning, we soaked again which was nice...no running outside of your room through the lobby to get to the onsen and we could soak for as long as we wanted. ||Breakfast was included and was just as amazing as dinner. Luckily a smaller portion so we were able to finish all of our food. Typical yummy Japanese breakfast with fresh steamed rice, onsen tamago (soft boiled egg boiled in onsen water), grilled fish, miso soup, etc. ||Yes, it's old so if you're enjoying the rooms on the first floor with the private onsen...be aware the restaurant is on the 4th floor with no elevator which we did not mind...the architecture is great AND you can hear people above you walking and putting things down. Wish the hotel would requests guest on the 2nd floor and above be mindful. We almost went to the front desk to mention how noisy the people upstairs were, but then they must have gone to sleep because it was dead quiet. ||We chose the early breakfast time slot which to me seemed a little late, 7:45AM...but I am glad we did. Restaurant was less crowded and we didn't hear heavy footsteps above us in the morning.||We would definitely...

This hotel has been a consistently running Ryokan for over 380 years, keeping that in mind when checking in and setting expectations around a 380 year old hotel is important. I think many of the people who rated and reviewed this hotel poorly have not stayed in traditional ryokans and/or are used to primarily western hotels with modern amenities and Western food. ||Yes, you will probably have a tatami room (wicker flooring) with traditional futon bed which...god forbid you have to rollout and setup yourself. It takes five minutes. The bed was comfortable, I'm not a small guy and weigh over 210lbs but slept comfortably. You can add extra padding by lying all the extra bedding and mats provided under the futon if you need to. The room I booked had a private bath which overlooked the river and it was amazing. The shower was and indoor/outdoor with open air window and a door connecting to the bath area. I loved it. When you check in they will give you an option to wear the Yakuta and you will have to remove shoes. Do it, it's great. ||The food is traditional Japanese style and it's amazing. Dinner each night for us was some various of shabu shabu (hot pot) always supplemented with a fresh grilled at table item (abalone, scallop). Lots of vegetables and a multi course kaiseki plate with a lot of interesting items. Be adventurous, this isn't your neighborhood sushi joint but the food is next level fresh and amazing. We opted in for the sashimi and poached sea bream one night and it was great. Pro-tip for 1,100 yen you can drink all you want for an hour and fifteen minutes. We took full advantage of this and everyone was feeling good by the time dinner was over. Breakfast was always a grilled fish of some sort with rice, a miso ||The onsens onsite are also traditional onsens. They are full nude and rotate them between the sexes daily. Many members of my party tried them and loved them. They do not permit tattoos which for me was a bit of a bummer but I booked a room with a private bath and river view so no hard feelings there. Later in the evening though when it's dead you can probably sneak in if you're covered in ink. |There is a massage service in-room which I enjoyed, it's a shiatsu style though which is percussive. Not a traditional western massage but it still knocked me out. Give it a try. There's an old man who does it and he sometimes will go room to room to ask about massage if he's not busy. It's well worth it. ||The hotel itself is clearly old but has been kept up with wood work and care, that having been said it's on a river and has onsens which means constant moisture. Outside areas will have light moss or mold here and there. It is what it is and is unavoidable given the location. It's a stunning hotel ryokan and river side rooms have amazing views. ||The hotel staff is attentive but like many things in Japan, you have to ask for what you want. Needs aren't necessarily anticipated. Flag down servers at dinner if you want something and ask the front desk if you need booking, amenity help etc. ||As for the surrounding area, there is a ton to do. We did a hike to a temple one day followed by 90 minutes of put-put golf and a really amazing Soba Noodle meal. We visited a local 5-Star Onsen facility that decided to let me in despite the tattoos, we walked downtown and ate at all the little pop-ups and did some shopping. It's located very conveniently, we walked with luggage to the hotel but opted in for a taxi on...

This hotel has been a consistently running Ryokan for over 380 years, keeping that in mind when checking in and setting expectations around a 380 year old hotel is important. I think many of the people who rated and reviewed this hotel poorly have not stayed in traditional ryokans and/or are used to primarily western hotels with modern amenities and Western food. ||Yes, you will probably have a tatami room (wicker flooring) with traditional futon bed which...god forbid you have to rollout and setup yourself. It takes five minutes. The bed was comfortable, I'm not a small guy and weigh over 210lbs but slept comfortably. You can add extra padding by lying all the extra bedding and mats provided under the futon if you need to. The room I booked had a private bath which overlooked the river and it was amazing. The shower was and indoor/outdoor with open air window and a door connecting to the bath area. I loved it. When you check in they will give you an option to wear the Yakuta and you will have to remove shoes. Do it, it's great. ||The food is traditional Japanese style and it's amazing. Dinner each night for us was some various of shabu shabu (hot pot) always supplemented with a fresh grilled at table item (abalone, scallop). Lots of vegetables and a multi course kaiseki plate with a lot of interesting items. Be adventurous, this isn't your neighborhood sushi joint but the food is next level fresh and amazing. We opted in for the sashimi and poached sea bream one night and it was great. Pro-tip for 1,100 yen you can drink all you want for an hour and fifteen minutes. We took full advantage of this and everyone was feeling good by the time dinner was over. Breakfast was always a grilled fish of some sort with rice, a miso ||The onsens onsite are also traditional onsens. They are full nude and rotate them between the sexes daily. Many members of my party tried them and loved them. They do not permit tattoos which for me was a bit of a bummer but I booked a room with a private bath and river view so no hard feelings there. Later in the evening though when it's dead you can probably sneak in if you're covered in ink. |There is a massage service in-room which I enjoyed, it's a shiatsu style though which is percussive. Not a traditional western massage but it still knocked me out. Give it a try. There's an old man who does it and he sometimes will go room to room to ask about massage if he's not busy. It's well worth it. ||The hotel itself is clearly old but has been kept up with wood work and care, that having been said it's on a river and has onsens which means constant moisture. Outside areas will have light moss or mold here and there. It is what it is and is unavoidable given the location. It's a stunning hotel ryokan and river side rooms have amazing views. ||The hotel staff is attentive but like many things in Japan, you have to ask for what you want. Needs aren't necessarily anticipated. Flag down servers at dinner if you want something and ask the front desk if you need booking, amenity help etc. ||As for the surrounding area, there is a ton to do. We did a hike to a temple one day followed by 90 minutes of put-put golf and a really amazing Soba Noodle meal. We visited a local 5-Star Onsen facility that decided to let me in despite the tattoos, we walked downtown and ate at all the little pop-ups and did some shopping. It's located very conveniently, we walked with luggage to the hotel but opted in for a taxi on...