Sansuiso — Hotel in Honshu

Sansuiso review

It was a comfortable stay Oct 28, 2025 for 3N. The leaves had not really turned full autumn colours yet.

The Good: Check in at 3pm was smooth. Not much english is spoken but the foreign staff at check in esp EIMT was very helpful during our stay. We appreciated her service very much, including the other japanese staff.

The ryokan is spacious with a nice interior. Free tasty tidbits at the spacious reception lobby. Very good tasting free coffee - there is only one machine which takes quite a while to make one cup of coffee, so do expect to wait if there are more people. Nice koi at the viewing window.

MEALS The dining area for dinner and breakfast is very comfortable and spacious. We were pleased and satisfied with the kaiseki dinners. The appetisers together with the main dishes were all served to us at the table. The Fukushima beef was very tender. The 1N was grilled sirloin, the 2N was sukiyaki. The 3N was beef shabu shabu and we ordered extra Fukushima steak. They repeated the steamed and vinegared dishes on the 3rd night.

Desserts at the help yourself buffet section included slices of persimmon, melon, apple - all sweet and fresh. Small cups of mousse and little cakes were also available.

The restaurant staff “Rayhan” (indonesian) was very professional, maintaining the high level of japanese service expected of a ryokan. Excellent service throughout our 3N dinners!

Breakfast was adequate - with fresh onsen eggs, porridge, salad buttery croissants, soft buns, omelette, fried egg, fresh tempura and many other asian choices. The sausages and bacon were a little too salty tho. There was coffee but no english teas.

ROOM We were satisfied with the cleanliness of our Kachoen room, the 12.5 tatami mat was spacious for the two of us.

There are some points which we hope they will consider regarding the amenities in the room or private onsen.

The points for improvement:

1. Many come to the ryokans to enjoy a comfortable short stay. Not having to pack too many toiletries makes it convenient for them so they can travel light.

So it was disappointing that this ryokan removed all the amenities from the rooms and lobby. Only shampoo, conditioner and body shampoo was provided in the room. Removing all the toiletries or amenities and expecting guests to pack their own toiletries for such a short stay is not practical.

Since the use of the private onsen is chargeable, they should provide shower caps or hair ties inside. Hair ties and a shower cap is important for ladies so they can keep their hair out of the onsen water for hygiene reasons. It was very troublesome to find out that this was not available in the private onsen.

Whilst we understand the need to prevent wastage, a degree of flexibility should be considered for your guests convenience and comfort. The SDGs agenda 2030 or severe cost cutting measures should be balanced with the comfort and convenience of paying guests.

They should supply at least ONE small facial cleansing pack (cleansing oil+wash+emulsion) together with a cotton pad and hair tie for check in guests if they need it.

This was our first experience at Sansuiso and we hope they will review their policy of not supplying any amenities or toiletries from the room or lobby or private onsen. This is the main disappointment. Even business hotels and the many ryokans we stayed in still provide these essential amenities.

It is a very nice ryokan and it is a pity about the removal of all toiletries from the lobby or room.

Nevertheless, we would like to thank all the staff for their hard work and effort as everyone was polite...

This was my first stay at a traditional Japanese Inn. I enjoyed the overall experience. Review is mostly informational. Arriving to Fukushima station, we were picked up by a bus shuttle. When you call for reservations, make sure to ask the location of the pick up. Website says stop 5, but we got picked up and dropped off near 3. The shuttle is a 30 minute drive to Tsuchiyuonsenmachi. Upon arriving, we were greeted by friendly hotel staff. We made our way to the hotel lobby where we provided our passports for check-in. While we waited, we were given hot towels and coffee, along with a dessert jelly, which might have been red bean. They also provided information about the hotel onsen and other local spots. We were then taken to our room and shown around. They provide a yukata to wear around the onsen and slippers. I wore mine to the onsens and breakfast. I have also provided a picture of the men's yukata. The women's is similar but a different color. The room was very clean and organized. The room had shampoo, conditioner, body wash, tooth brush, tooth paste, perfume and cologne. The onsens are located on floor 1, 3, 6. The open air onsen, which is what sold me in staying here, is located on the third floor. Make sure to clean yourself before going to the open air onsen. The showers are located on floors 1 and 6. I really enjoyed all the details they put in making sure guest feel at home. Shampoo, body conditioner, body wash, hair tie, cotton swabs and cotton pads were just some the items provided in the women's bathing area. The onsens were relaxing and I enjoyed my time there. Make sure to research onsens before using one so you know what to expect and follow the rules! Floor 6 is interchangeable, which means that the ladies and men baths switch. When I arrived the first bath in the hall was for men and the bath down the hall was for women. The next day they switched. Make sure to check both. The one down the hall has a better view of the waterfall and the forest. The breakfast provided was buffet style. They had many options Japanese and Western. Food was overall delicious, most of the signs are in Japanese. The staff was overall very friendly and helpful. They have a lot of information written in English. Although the conversations were not extensive, they were able to answer all my questions. I definitely recommend for anyone who wants to get away from the tourist packed areas or wants to relax away from city life. This has been a great experience as a first time...

On the day of our arrival--and first trip--to Japan, my partner and I made the journey here to spend our first few days relaxing and experiencing the famous cherry blossoms at Hanamiyama Park. The anxiety we had regarding our almost-nonexistent Japanese was met by a staff who went out of their way to make us welcome despite the slight language barrier (most staff know a bit of English, enough to meet guests' needs anyway). Everyone we encountered is fluent in the universal language of hospitality, however, and we felt extremely welcomed every moment by every member of the staff whom we encountered. Highlights include the public and private baths (reservation-based, for a very small fee)...we enjoyed a cool rainy afternoon in some very hot baths together, and also in the same-gender baths which are spacious and offer great views. Our room was larger than we expected based on the pictures, and we enjoyed the tea and famous multi-function toilets as well as the comfortable bedding options (Western beds as well as mat-on-tatami options). The breakfast is varied, delicious, and plentiful, although when we booked our room we did not select the dinner option too. Fortunately we corrected this and reserved dinner for the last night of our stay. It was adventurous, and among the most wonderful and memorable dining experiences I have ever had. If there is one drawback to this wonderful place, it is that the location is a bit farther than some Western tourists may travel (we saw only one other American couple here). That is too bad--it is well worth the easy trip from Tokyo to get here, and worth a stay of at least 2-3 days to get the relaxing onsen experience offered here. |More summary tips: we arrived at ~9pm to the station via Shinkansen from Tokyo, but had no trouble getting a taxi to take us there--considering the free shuttle back to the station, that was preferable to renting a car for us. Also, we got a 10-tatami room, but would have been quite comfortable in one of the smaller rooms. Finally, we packed more clothes than needed, since one wears the yukata (informal cotton kimono-styles robes) morning to night and doesn't really need clothes during...