Iwaya Inn — Hotel in Kiso

We booked this ryokan through an agent. |Pleased that we had a clean spacious smokeless room with our own attached bathroom and toilet. Although its owned by the same family for 300 yrs, good news that the rooms are new and there is an elevator to our rooms (+ luggages) on 3rd floor. Imagine carrying your suitcase up the steps. ||Ryokan was not crowded. We took a taxi for 650¥ from Kiso Fukushima station. Dinner was traditional Japanese kaiseki but by Japanese standards, the course was average as can be seen from the photos submitted. River fish and some sashimi/sushi with a hot pot soup/ pork. Certainly no beef. ||Onsen was quite tiny and did not look like the open air one submitted. We cant take photos of onsen, so cant show you. Im glad to have an onsen and there was only an elderly lady inside so did not feel too tight if more guests. Not much to see in this town. At 2pm most cafe were closed, so we could only find one cafe run by an elderly couple whom we enjoyed their service and small town feel. ||Indeed no WIFI in the room but we brought our own WIFI router, so not an issue. ||Sake shop and not brewery just across the street. By Japanese standards, very small range and average quality compared to the ones in Tokyo or bigger towns. I think the Nakasendo trail does not have the crowd from local Japanese tourists to offer a good range of service. ||If you need TAKQBin service, its next day delivery from the time they pick up. ||To run away from the maddening crowd, then yes. This is ideal. At our dinner table, there were at most 10...

Stayed here mid May for 2 nights. Great experience of a traditional Japanese Ryokan which served beautiful and tasty authentic food.|Room was simple, with basic amenities and a futon bed (thin mattresses on the floor). Lovely view of the river, but there was a constant noise of rushing water.|Staff were very friendly, spoke limited English but more than enough to get by, particularly one of the waitresses who explained how the dinner worked and what we were eating. |We were provided with a Yukata in the room to wear for meals. Were unsure if it compulsory and how to wear it so we asked the man at reception who was very helpful. Everyone wore them to dinner, no one at breakfast. Although the restaurant is small and intimate, we were sat at a table for the 2 of us, larger groups were all sat together. |The food was very good and plenty of it. Each meal was different, including the breakfast, wine was not great though, stick to the beer!|Location was 10 - 15 min walk to train station, if you dont want to walk there were taxis at the station.|Excellent experience in...

My partner and I stayed at Iwaya in June while we were walking on the Nakasendo. Chigono-san, the innkeeper, was wonderfully kind and helped us find wonderful places to explore in Kiso-Fukushima. His english is excellent which was very helpful for us. The rest of the staff was also wonderful and kind and we felt very welcomed and cared for.||||The rooms are large and beautiful and decorated beautifully. Our room had a stunning view of the inn's traditional garden and shrine, and the mountains of Nagano in the background. ||||Meals were absolutely delightful, with many courses, each one more beautiful and delicious than the last. And the cedar wood onsen (natural hot spring baths) on the top floor were beautiful, super clean, and very very relaxing.||||The town of Kiso-fukushima itself was one of the most magical places we've ever visited, and Iwaya is centrally located so it is easy to walk to many incredible places from there. If you are thinking about traveling in this region, we recommend Iwaya...