Yushintei — Hotel in Hakone

Most of the 1-star reviews are either from 3+ years ago or are written by people who don't seem to understand the concept of a hotel being both traditional and rurally located. My friend and I just finished our 2 night, 1 day stay, and we highly recommend this Ryokan.

For those interested in staying at Yushintei, I'm going to leave a fair, thorough review.

Food and Service

On arrival, our hosts were expecting us and greeted us warmly. The sign in process was easy, and the main hostess used Google Translate to help us clearly understand what to do. She offered us 3 possible times for dinner (6pm, 6.30pm and 7pm), which gave us time to settle into our room first. We were given the option between a Japanese or Western breakfast the next morning; we chose Japanese.

We realised belatedly that the food served would likely be fish (the whole course ended up being almost entirely seafood) and asked if it was possible to change the menu, but most of the food had already been prepared. The hostess apologised profusely, which we thought was sweet since the fault lay on us for not asking sooner. She explained that since we arrived on a weekend, they didn't have anything other than what was already in their kitchen. We ate what we could - the dinner was 5 courses, and more than enough to satisfy us even though we were picky and couldn't finish half of what was served.

The food was gorgeously presented, cooked well, and provided an overview of traditional Japanese cuisine. We ate in a private dining room. The hostess was extremely considerate and told us what meat was in each dish so we could avoid the foods we couldn't stomach. Breakfast the following morning was similar.

We were pleasantly surprised on our second night, as the hostess had taken note of what we didn't eat and managed to create a 4 course meal that didn't have any seafood whatsoever. We were extremely grateful for how gracious she was in catering to our preferences.

Room & Private Onsen

The room we were placed in was beautiful. We didn't have any problems bringing our 25kg suitcases onto the tatami mats. There were a couple of small stains on the tatami and paper sliding doors, but given the material of both it is unlikely the stains could have been removed without causing more damage.

The futons we slept on were traditionally thin, with a thick blanket and pillow on top. There were extra blankets and futons available in a closet next to the sleeping space. The sleeping area had a table with fresh water, both cold and boiling. The entry room had a mirror with lots of different hair and skin lotions. The bathroom was stocked with all basic hotel necessities. We were provided a yukata to wear after our onsen, which was perfectly sized and easy to slip on. Our room was cleaned and essentials restocked while we explored Hakone.

Our room came with a private open air onsen. It was large and deep enough for two average to taller than average Westerners to comfortably stretch out in. The water was pre-heated for our arrival, and continually ran hot water, which meant it was also pre-heated for our onsen on our second night. A crab got sucked through into our onsen's hot water pipe, but that wasn't the Ryokan's fault at all. It feel even more like a rural town experience - we had a good laugh.

Location

From Hakone-en, our taxi driver was familiar with the Yushintei name and had no problem getting us to our accommodation, even with our two oversized suitcases.

The walk to the nearby town was 10 - 15 minutes, however a shuttle bus service was also available after 9am. This works well with the Ryokan's offered breakfast times, which are 8am or 8.30am. Most shops in town don't open until 10am - 11am.

The train station into Hakone's main tourist district is easy to get to and navigate, both on foot and via shuttle bus.

We highly enjoyed our stay at Yushintei. The staff were extremely kind and courteous, and went above and beyond to help us feel comfortable.

I'm happy to provide more info for anyone curious, but...

Yushintei is a beautiful, old school Japanese ryokan in the lovely mountainside town of Hakone. It is a small ryokan with only a few rooms which gives it a very cosy and warm vibe. The staff were very friendly and welcoming and spoke at least some English. Yushintei is very easy to get to by taking the shuttle bus from Hakone-Yumoto train station for 100 yen. A good tip is to stock up with snacks and cheap beers/sake from the 7/11 before getting the shuttle. One other thing we found really useful was the coin lockers at the station. This saved us lugging our large suitcases up to the ryokan as we were able to just take what we needed for our 2 night stay. The large lockers are 600 yen per day and take Very large suitcases.||||Our room was very charming as we overlooked the river and it was carpeted with gorgeous tatami mats and had a separate small balcony with easy chairs to relax in. We also had a decent sized fridge and a separate toilet. In true ryokan style, the one room serves as bedroom, sitting room and dining room. We had delicious breakfasts and dinners served to us in our room each day by the very friendly staff. From what we learnt, this is a family run business and the young son was very friendly and helpful and spoke good English, so it was very easy to navigate our way around the finer points of onsen etiquette and glean great sight seeing tips from him.||||The food and service was absolutely outstanding! One of the food highlights of our 3 week stay in Japan. Each morning we were served a wonderful breakfast of multifarious small serving bowls, consisting of fresh local produce including fish, pickles, vegetables, tofu, miso soup and rice. This large breakfast gave us enough energy for a day's sightseeing. The evening meals were even more sumptuous with so many local specialties served up in traditional seasonal style. We had wonderful pork hot pots and stunning locally smoked fish that were real gourmet treats. You can also order a limited selection of sake and wine for your meal, and there is also a vending machine in the foyer that sells beer.||||After our evening meal the staff made up our futon beds for us. If you are on the larger side, I recommend two futon mattresses for supreme comfort! After our wonderful dinners and a few glasses of local sake, we just drifted off into the soundest sleep to the accompaniment of the rushing river in our ears....||||The two public onsens within the ryokan are scrupulously clean with wide granite baths and the water was lovely and warm without being too hot. This was perfect for us as it was pouring with rain during our stay, so after a day outside trying in vain to find Mt Fuji through the mist, it was pure bliss to slip into a warm, relaxing onsen. Although we booked a room without a private onsen, the staff told us that there was a separate, private onsen that we could reserve for a small fee, so we took advantage of this each evening for a romantic couples onsen. The two public onsen are same sex and each onsen is rotated twice a day between men & women, so you need to be aware of what time each onsen is for either men or women.||||Yushintei is a wonderful experience of Japanese life which should definitely be on your...

Yushintei is a beautiful, old school Japanese ryokan in the lovely mountainside town of Hakone. It is a small ryokan with only a few rooms which gives it a very cosy and warm vibe. The staff were very friendly and welcoming and spoke at least some English. Yushintei is very easy to get to by taking the shuttle bus from Hakone-Yumoto train station for 100 yen. A good tip is to stock up with snacks and cheap beers/sake from the 7/11 before getting the shuttle. One other thing we found really useful was the coin lockers at the station. This saved us lugging our large suitcases up to the ryokan as we were able to just take what we needed for our 2 night stay. The large lockers are 600 yen per day and take Very large suitcases.||||Our room was very charming as we overlooked the river and it was carpeted with gorgeous tatami mats and had a separate small balcony with easy chairs to relax in. We also had a decent sized fridge and a separate toilet. In true ryokan style, the one room serves as bedroom, sitting room and dining room. We had delicious breakfasts and dinners served to us in our room each day by the very friendly staff. From what we learnt, this is a family run business and the young son was very friendly and helpful and spoke good English, so it was very easy to navigate our way around the finer points of onsen etiquette and glean great sight seeing tips from him.||||The food and service was absolutely outstanding! One of the food highlights of our 3 week stay in Japan. Each morning we were served a wonderful breakfast of multifarious small serving bowls, consisting of fresh local produce including fish, pickles, vegetables, tofu, miso soup and rice. This large breakfast gave us enough energy for a day's sightseeing. The evening meals were even more sumptuous with so many local specialties served up in traditional seasonal style. We had wonderful pork hot pots and stunning locally smoked fish that were real gourmet treats. You can also order a limited selection of sake and wine for your meal, and there is also a vending machine in the foyer that sells beer.||||After our evening meal the staff made up our futon beds for us. If you are on the larger side, I recommend two futon mattresses for supreme comfort! After our wonderful dinners and a few glasses of local sake, we just drifted off into the soundest sleep to the accompaniment of the rushing river in our ears....||||The two public onsens within the ryokan are scrupulously clean with wide granite baths and the water was lovely and warm without being too hot. This was perfect for us as it was pouring with rain during our stay, so after a day outside trying in vain to find Mt Fuji through the mist, it was pure bliss to slip into a warm, relaxing onsen. Although we booked a room without a private onsen, the staff told us that there was a separate, private onsen that we could reserve for a small fee, so we took advantage of this each evening for a romantic couples onsen. The two public onsen are same sex and each onsen is rotated twice a day between men & women, so you need to be aware of what time each onsen is for either men or women.||||Yushintei is a wonderful experience of Japanese life which should definitely be on your...