Sakura Sakura Onsen — Hotel in Kirishima

As some of the other reviewers have mentioned, the facilities are somewhat old. The ||||rooms definitely felt as if they had seen better days, and even had a slightly ||||melancholy air about it. That being said, the general atmosphere was brighten up ||||significantly by the staff working there. The staff there always seem to be working ||||hard to make your experience an enjoyable one, attentive and smiling constantly. For ||||those who cannot speak Japanese, most of them seem to know some basic English and we ||||are alwasy successful at commuicating our needs to them||Speaking of the staff, the dining staff are especially commendable for their ||||cheerfulness and willingness to help, even during the busy dinner period when they are ||||kept constantly running up and down to serve the diners and guests.||The food by the way is delicious. We had two very satisfying, fresh and delicious ||||dinners during our stay there, one of them a hot pot. And breakfast featured a wide ||||variety of dishes as well. The best to me was the freshly steamed vegetables (sweet ||||potato, pumkin, daikon) and there was quite a sizeable fish section as well. ||As for access to the hotel. Yes the shuttle bus has been discontinued. But for those ||||with no car, you can easily get there by bus from JR Kirishimajingu (霧島神宮駅). Just ||||alight at Yokodakeshita (横岳下) which is right at the entrance of Sakura onsen and its ||||a short walk in. Be aware though that the bus only comes hourly, and during off peak ||||days, the last bus from the station is about 4pm ish in the afternoon.||As for attractions nearby, ||Kirishima Shrine(霧島神宮) and Kirishima Gorge (霧島神水峡遊歩道) are just a short 15min bus ||||ride away (the bus again is hourly though so plan carefully) and the suprisingly fun ||||Kirishimashinwanosato Park (神話の里入口) is just a 15min walk up the hill. Between these 3 ||||destinations you can easily spend a whole happy day there. ||Oh one last thing before I forget, this is an Onsen hotel after all. Besides the peaceful setting of its outdoor onsen, the special feature of this onsen is the volcanic mud. We went crazy slathering it all over our bodies and I must say our skin did seem to improve for a while after that (placebo effect perhaps?) One thing they did not mention, is that you have to wait for the mud to dry, and wash it off before getting back in the onsen which can be quite a chilling experience if the weather is cold. Standing in the open naked and covered in drying mud is quite an experience. On the plus side, you could also just cover your face in mud and get in the onsen. Just make sure not to get any mud in the onsen water. There is a sperate area to wash it off. Oh and speaking of washing it off, the mud can be pretty stubborn, so do get your friend to check for you if you have washed everything off. Otherwise you might be walking around with mud behind your ear the whole day. Do note, there is no extra towels in the changing area unlike some hotel onsen changing areas, so do remember to...

We stayed here for only one night in Japanese Annex room with our children ages 4&5. |The room was clean and nice. Tea sets etc. Ready in the room. The room did not have a shower but you don't need it anyway because there are the onsen bathing houses. We had our own toilet (with hand washing opportunity) but no sink in the room. Our tatami beds were laid out by the staff during our dinner. |The shuttle bus picked us up from close by village after we had hiked in Ebino Kogen with our kids. |The kids were welcome and our stay was very relaxing and enjoyable. |Because we stayed in the Annex building we had the opportunity to use private outdoor onsen which was great especially cause we could all go together and kids could enjoy the onsen a bit more freely. We also visited the bigger onsens in the main building. |Dinner was fantastic! The kids had their own meal (as requested during reservation) and we had a Japanese menu with all sorts of things. Breakfast was very versatile. |Staff was very friendly and helpful. |Only minus is that the hotel/spa is quite old...but as said still clean.|We enjoyed our stay very much and would have cladly stayed for longer if possible. Also we recommend the hikes near Ebino Kogen. The views...

My husband and I had a fantastic 3-days at Sakura Sakura. We booked a room at incredible discount through their website. It was for an 'Oyado' i.e. little one-bedroom cottage housed among other similar cottages. ||||As others have also commented, this ryokan is famous for its hotsprings which didn't disappoint; they are a great variety of indoor and outdoor hotspring pools, and conform to their website photos. The bonus to these hotsprings is the volcanic mud that is provided in tubs in each of the hotsprings. This mud is replenished daily. Worked marvels in lightening pigmentation and softening the skin.||||The breakfast was a lavish buffet of both Japanese and Western fare with some slight variation each day. Dinner was just as delicious multi-course meals, served with great attentiveness.||||The greatest plus point was the staff: they would ask us each morning after breakfast whether they could offer us a ride to the town centre or other tourist attractions. They visited Ebino Kogen and did a mini hike up the clearly marked trails; we also visited the numerous stores which sold produce of the region. In all, we felt like very important guests. We would definitely return...