Kouyurou Ikawa — Hotel in Izunokuni

Although there was a young guy directing cars where to park, I was surprised that no one was there to help with our bags. Upon checking in, we were served a small glass of chilled local green tea, which was much nicer than I expected. They explained everything about the facility in the lobby and then let us go. Again, no one showed us to our room, which is somewhat unusual for an onsen hotel. On the positive side, we didn't have to worry about anyone explaining what is self-explanatory (as we've stayed in onsens many times before) and we could relax, as soon as we got to our room.||It was on the Heian Modern floor (6th floor of 7). The room was very spacious (for two) and a unique blend of traditional Japanese style and modern comfort ... i.e. tatami mats with a big low table and cushions to sit on, as well as a huge sofa to lounge on. The onsen hotel is at the back of the town and the view is nothing special - just a view of the town. The other side might be better, as it's a mountain (so, at least the view is green???). The blinds and shoji (rice paper) sliding doors add to the atmosphere of the room - there really is no need to see outside. They have a small CD stereo with some relaxing music, which was a nice touch.||In the fridge, was a big jug of water and some citron-honey jelly to enjoy - sweet. They have a kettle, so you can boil water for tea.||The free-size samue style of wear (not a regular yukata, was more like 2-thirds pants and a pull-over top), it had a few threads hanging off them, here and there. (I would have them cut off, personally.) ||There were only two times set for dinner 5:45 and 7:45p.m., which was a little annoying, as one is too early and the other a bit too late, for us. ||We wanted to have a good long soak in the bath, so we chose the later time. Most people probably have dinner early, so we had the public bath pretty much to ourselves. It's a big bath with a smaller outside rotenburo and 10-12 people can wash inside, all at once. The bath water was hot, which was perfect for me. Even the outside rotenburo was very hot! Fantastic!||As we still had some time before dinner, we went to the bar and foot bath (a unique idea, soak in warm water while enjoying a drink). Only the soft drinks were free ... the O.J. was fresh and the iced tea was refreshing. On the down side, they didn't offer any sake (nihon-shu) ... only beer, a few cocktails and sho-chu. We were there by ourselves most of the time. A young guy came in for about 2 mins then left. It's certainly peaceful that way ...||Dinner was in a restaurant on the 2nd floor, and we had our own little area ... screened off by timber blinds. The food just kept on coming ... I don't think I've ever eaten so much ... the pace was rather fast, so I asked our attendant to slow down, which was no problem (probably because it was the later session and not so crowded). The fresh abalone cooked at our table was superb and the mini steak was just as good too, cooked on a stone plate. The huge boat of fresh raw fish was delicious - this is why you stay in Izu. We ended up having the dessert brought to our room, as we just couldn't fit it in.||There are three private baths that everyone can try, just once for 50 minutes. They will not let you go twice (as I wanted to have one at night and then again the following morning). And offering to pay won't help either ... I guess, that's one way to make you come back.||We learnt the true meaning of hospitality, here ... the private bath had everything you could possibly need. With two big leather lounges overlooking the bath and Japanese garden outside, bathrobes, towels, toiletries, incense burning and best of all, a complimentary bottle of beer and mineral water on ice! Perfect after a looooong hot soak ... unfortunately 50 minutes just flew by. The only bad point, there isn't a toilet there, so go before you enter. ||The futon was set on big thick soft mats, so it was almost like sleeping on a bed. (They make up the beds while having dinner, obviously.)||For brekkie, you have a choice ... eat a simple bento in your room or dine on the second floor. We had our own area and a choice of ebodai (butterfish) or aji (horse mackerel) for himono (sun-dreid fish) ... brekkie was filling, too.||They do seem a little under-staffed but, if you look on the bright side (and realize they have to cut costs somewhere to survive) ... you can totally relax without worrying about too many noisy questions from the staff ...||As for cost-performance and hospitality, they deserve...

Although there was a young guy directing cars where to park, I was surprised that no one was there to help with our bags. Upon checking in, we were served a small glass of chilled local green tea, which was much nicer than I expected. They explained everything about the facility in the lobby and then let us go. Again, no one showed us to our room, which is somewhat unusual for an onsen hotel. On the positive side, we didn't have to worry about anyone explaining what is self-explanatory (as we've stayed in onsens many times before) and we could relax, as soon as we got to our room.||It was on the Heian Modern floor (6th floor of 7). The room was very spacious (for two) and a unique blend of traditional Japanese style and modern comfort ... i.e. tatami mats with a big low table and cushions to sit on, as well as a huge sofa to lounge on. The onsen hotel is at the back of the town and the view is nothing special - just a view of the town. The other side might be better, as it's a mountain (so, at least the view is green???). The blinds and shoji (rice paper) sliding doors add to the atmosphere of the room - there really is no need to see outside. They have a small CD stereo with some relaxing music, which was a nice touch.||In the fridge, was a big jug of water and some citron-honey jelly to enjoy - sweet. They have a kettle, so you can boil water for tea.||The free-size samue style of wear (not a regular yukata, was more like 2-thirds pants and a pull-over top), it had a few threads hanging off them, here and there. (I would have them cut off, personally.) ||There were only two times set for dinner 5:45 and 7:45p.m., which was a little annoying, as one is too early and the other a bit too late, for us. ||We wanted to have a good long soak in the bath, so we chose the later time. Most people probably have dinner early, so we had the public bath pretty much to ourselves. It's a big bath with a smaller outside rotenburo and 10-12 people can wash inside, all at once. The bath water was hot, which was perfect for me. Even the outside rotenburo was very hot! Fantastic!||As we still had some time before dinner, we went to the bar and foot bath (a unique idea, soak in warm water while enjoying a drink). Only the soft drinks were free ... the O.J. was fresh and the iced tea was refreshing. On the down side, they didn't offer any sake (nihon-shu) ... only beer, a few cocktails and sho-chu. We were there by ourselves most of the time. A young guy came in for about 2 mins then left. It's certainly peaceful that way ...||Dinner was in a restaurant on the 2nd floor, and we had our own little area ... screened off by timber blinds. The food just kept on coming ... I don't think I've ever eaten so much ... the pace was rather fast, so I asked our attendant to slow down, which was no problem (probably because it was the later session and not so crowded). The fresh abalone cooked at our table was superb and the mini steak was just as good too, cooked on a stone plate. The huge boat of fresh raw fish was delicious - this is why you stay in Izu. We ended up having the dessert brought to our room, as we just couldn't fit it in.||There are three private baths that everyone can try, just once for 50 minutes. They will not let you go twice (as I wanted to have one at night and then again the following morning). And offering to pay won't help either ... I guess, that's one way to make you come back.||We learnt the true meaning of hospitality, here ... the private bath had everything you could possibly need. With two big leather lounges overlooking the bath and Japanese garden outside, bathrobes, towels, toiletries, incense burning and best of all, a complimentary bottle of beer and mineral water on ice! Perfect after a looooong hot soak ... unfortunately 50 minutes just flew by. The only bad point, there isn't a toilet there, so go before you enter. ||The futon was set on big thick soft mats, so it was almost like sleeping on a bed. (They make up the beds while having dinner, obviously.)||For brekkie, you have a choice ... eat a simple bento in your room or dine on the second floor. We had our own area and a choice of ebodai (butterfish) or aji (horse mackerel) for himono (sun-dreid fish) ... brekkie was filling, too.||They do seem a little under-staffed but, if you look on the bright side (and realize they have to cut costs somewhere to survive) ... you can totally relax without worrying about too many noisy questions from the staff ...||As for cost-performance and hospitality, they deserve...

This is my first time staying in this ryokan just for a night as I am passing by Izu to Mount Fuji area. It came highly recommended in the Rakuten website and it was very good value for the price we paid for a night's stay with 2 meals. It appears to serve mainly domestic tourists as we were the only foreigners in the ryokan. The exterior of the hotel is not much to shout about, but when we stepped into the lobby, we could tell that it was recently refurbished. The lobby was modern with comfortable sofa sets with free flow coffee and tea available throughout the day.||The ryokan only opens for check-in at 3pm sharp but the staff was very kind to guide us to a nearby soba eatery (Hashimoto - extremely popular with the locals) for a late lunch. It was very easy to park just outside the ryokan (no charges).||We picked the Comfort Room (which is a series of upgraded rooms) at room 606 with a beautiful view of the Izu city. It was a typical Japanese tatami room (whereby the staff will make the bed during dinner) but with modern touches - flat screen TV and a large daybed/ couch etc. There is no Wi-Fi in the room, but we used the Wi-Fi in the lobby (very fast and strong). ||What was a surprise to us was the private onsen bath (on the first floor) - it was offered to us at no extra charges - we can get to use the private onsen bath for 50 mins at our preferred time. We chose the Haku bath, and the room even came with beer and ice cold water - the open-air onsen bath faces a small garden. It was a very relaxing bath. As we used the private bath, I did not try the public onsen bath.||Dinner was fantastic, the hotel was able to accommodate my vegetarian diet (I emailed them prior) and the food was delicious! The dining room was on the 2nd floor and each table had a blind as a partition to offer privacy to diners. The ambience was cosy yet private. The choice of drinks (chargeable) was extensive as well. Breakfast (not buffet style) was served at the same dining room the next day and I must compliment the chef for his skills.||There are plenty of things to do in the area of the hotel, due to its location, it is just 5-10 mins walk to the nearby temples. The strawberry farms however are further out and would need a car or a shuttle bus.||The next time we are in Izu we will be back to...