Takaragawa Onsen Osenkaku — Hotel in Honshu

Overrated in my humble opinion. I came in winter and the outdoor baths are only so-so apart from appearing rustic and traditional. The water is not very hot but I was told about this during the check-in briefing. I suppose this was the original concept, but it's not for me after all. Furthermore, the establishment itself is pretty much super crowded compared to your average Ryokan, I think. I have also decided that mixed-gender bathing is not my thing - if you are conscious of leery gazes and have legs on the longer side, the bath outfit is not very long, it barely covers your pelvic area, which might make you feel sort of in a compromising position. There is a women-only bath which is fine, but again, it's not very warm in winter. I'm also pretty sure a ladyboy came into the female-only changing room, and I'm sorry for offending people's feelings, but I felt super uncomfortable as this person clearly sounded like a man and had an Adam's apple even though they dressed like a woman... The indoor bath is hotter and less crowded, but there's a big vent to air it that lets cold air in and if you're in winter it's super difficult to deal with. I usually take baths multiple times at Ryokans but here I only did once and didn't wanna go again. The food was nice, but I started the meal at 6pm, and then waited 20+ mins for a course that never came out, and was served last amongst the customers as though I was just forgotten and swept aside as a solo traveller, left to my own devices or something. I waited until 8:00pm from 6:50pm, and still, I was not served the last 2 missing courses. I sat and waited until the neighbouring tables were being cleaned and disinfected after they finished eating already (even though these people arrived later than me!), but my last dish never came out. I made it clear to the server lady that I can understand Japanese, but she did not bother to explain why I had to wait for so long or why I was served last amongst everyone. Nobody came within those 1h 10 mins to provide some sort of reasonable account for this incredibly long delay. I have been to many places in Japan and I'm quite certain that this is not the standard, especially for reputable ryokan. In fact, this is the first time I have even written a negative review for anything in Japan, because I feel so strongly about this. It was a very unpleasant and sad experience for me as I did not pay a small amount but received such poor treatment during the meal service that I would say, is super subpar for such a well-known onsen. Will definitely not be coming back and I highly discourage all solo female travellers from coming here lest you be treated as poorly as I was during the meal service that you paid for as part of the experience. Not worth the money at all, and I'm terribly, terribly disappointed. I keep asking myself, what's up with this treatment? Is it because I'm a foreigner? Is it because I'm a solo traveller and they never really wanted to accommodate me? Whatever the reason, it's ridiculous that this happened and unfortunately I can't help feeling very upset at how I paid a whopping SGD 276.75 for this subpar, lackluster experience.

Edit: the head lady herself personally came to my room to deliver the dessert course to me, and she also apologised in the best English words she could muster. I could tell she tried her best in the situation, so I felt bad for troubling her because I didn't think it was necessarily her fault that I went through what I did. However, the damage has already been done, so I just don't think I can take back my negative impression of the entire experience....

I stayed 2 nights over the Lunar New Year during one of the coldest and snowiest time this year in Japan. This place was absolutely beautiful and better than we expected after reading the reviews. The main reason we chose this ryokan was because they provide bath wear to use in the onsen. As my wife went through a mastectomy for breast cancer before, she is very shy about her scars thus this really suited us. The ryokan is located along a small river valley on the mountain, about 30 mins shuttle bus ride away from the train station provided by the ryokan. Check in was smooth and professionally done for my group of 12 pax with kids. Our shoes were kept at the entrance and in house slippers, yukata and onsen bath wear were provided to us to use inside the ryokan throughout our stay during checkin. The host then provided a map of the whole premise and explain to us information about the where and how to use the onsen. It seems all rooms face the valley and river but I got a room at the lowest floor which i think has the nicest view directly beside the river. The rooms are large, clean and have a heater and toilet. The rotenburo is large and consisted of 3 mixed area and 1 female only pool. You would need to cross the river on a bridge and walk a short distance to reach the rotenburo. As it was winter and snowing, boots were provided before the bridge to walk to the rotenburo. The host also encouraged us to use our own jackets when walking to the rotenburo. The walk to the rotenburo was just magical with beautiful views of the river and valley. Some of the reviews are right in that the rotenburo was not hot enough, but you would need to thread to the water source then it will be hot. The host did explain to us about this upon checkin. We are fine with it, but maybe add more source into the same pool so that the whole pool will be evenly hot? The rotenburo has a changing area to store your boots and yukata. It is very naturally designed to match the river with traditional motifs all around it. There is also 2 separate gender indoor onsen which was really hot. We could only sit in for 5 mins, while at the rotenburo, it was just hot enough that we could sit and relax there for 1 hour, enjoying the view. So 1 hour relaxing with view, dinner, then 5 mins of hot indoor onsen for a comfortable night sleep. Breakfast and dinner was served in a common dining area. It was semi kaiseki in that you get the full kaiseki meal but it is served all at the same time instead of course by course. The food quality and taste was good and service was fast and attentive during meals. Even the child meal was also good as we were given the option of Japanese or Western child meal. Meal for both days were different and equally good. The service throughout the stay was exceptional and we would especially like to thank Ms Erica for her warm hospitality and the elderly gentleman at the reception who could also speak English and Mandarin (to my parents) fluently. He assisted us in the checkin and with booking and travelling to the nearby ski resort for a great afternoon of fun. Our 2 nights at the ryokan was the most fun and relaxing throughout our Japan trip.

Additional tip: For family with kids, book direct through their website instead of 3rd party platform. Kids are charged much lower with them. In 3rd party platform, kids will be charged adult price due to the platform’s booking...

Do you long for a relaxing stay a mere 2.5 hours away from the insanity and craziness of Tokyo? Have you ever wanted to stay in a 99 year-old early Showa-era ryokan (Japanese inn)? Or do you love Japanese onsen culture as you slip your body into a 41 degree C "roten-buru" onsen? Are you a lover of "kaiseki" Japanese dinners that require hours to enjoy? Finally, do you miss a time when you, the weary traveler, was treated with respect, dignity, and genuinely valued when you spend a night in a distant land?

Yeah, I thought so, me too.

Takaragawa Onsen Osenkaku gave me all of this, and so so so much more. I enjoyed 2 nights at Osenkaku, and next time I will stay 3.

Let's start at the beginning: I am a seasoned traveler in Japan, having traveled there over 240 days since 2017 from as far North as Asahikawa to as far south as Kagoshima. So I know what I like when I travel to Japan, and do my research accordingly.

Osenkaku checked all of my "boxes". First, there is a ryokan van that will bring you from Jomo-Kogen shinkansen station. After a drive of around 30 minutes, the van arrives to Takaragawa Onsen Osenkaku.

The ryokan itself is nestled into a narrow valley, surrounded by nature. There's a raging river that runs just alongside the ryokan, making sleeping on the well-maintained tatami a joy (oh that background noise I wish I had at home!). The ryokan is well-maintained, and impeccably clean. Japanese is the language of choice here, but some easy English is OK.

But really, what set this ryokan apart from others I have stayed at were the ryokan staff - from top to bottom, they were incredibly friendly, respectful, helpful, and overall, incredible. Hello sweet Mitsuko-san, hard-working Kabuto-san, and efficient Assistant Manager Okamoto-san! I miss all of you! Yes, I was incredibly impressed with the entire staff at Osenkaku - Omotenashi to the ultimate, so appreciated by me personally.

The roten-buru (outside onsen) is a true onsen, and is actually a complex of three outdoor bath areas. Each has a different temperature of water, clarity of water, and chemical consistency of water. See my photos! These pools sit just next to the raging river, and is overlooked upon by a Buddhist deity. At the time I stayed at the ryokan, cherry trees bloomed and overhung the onsen baths. INCREDIBLE.

Overall, I give this ryokan a firm 5-star, with a 4-star for location (it is not next to a train station, and requires coordination with the free bus shuttle from Jomo-kogen station).

I am already planning my next trip to Japan. I will be back to Osenkaku soon. That's a promise.

A NOTE ON MY PHOTOS: Photos are not allowed in the roten-buru onsen at Osenkaku. However, this was my first night after arriving in Japan - I had serious jet-lag. I was wide awake at 4 am, so I threw on my yukata and headed for the roten-buru. As NOBODY was in ANY of the pools until around 6 am that morning, I had them all to myself. I spent 5 minutes shooting these photos quickly while I was alone. Then the phone went back to my wonderful room. Enjoy these photos!

Hello from America Mitsuko and Kabuto! I miss...