高山荘 華野 — Hotel in Kobe

We booked here on our 2 day port stop in Kobe bc my dad wanted to go to a traditional onsen hotel with tatami mats to sleep on. This hotel was in a great location, not far off the main little street with a lot of the shops and restaurants.

Do note it is quite a schlep up a steep street and luckily our taxi driver dropped us off at the foot of the stairs up to the hotel. Upon arrival we were immediately greeted with new slippers while our shoes were stored away by the staff and taken to a reception area and served hot matcha and sweet rice cake. Once our paperwork was processed, the staff showed us to our room which was already set up with comfortable futons for the night.

We had a tub/shower combo and a traditional dining table, mini fridge, TV and robes for lounging in and visiting the onsen which is open until midnight (but closed from 7-7:30pm each day for cleaning). The onsen facilities are separated by men and women and no reservations are needed to use it. It is nude only and smart phones are strictly forbidden in the onsen area.

The gold onsen is quite large and indoors while the silver onsen is smaller but outdoors on a covered balcony. I was hesitant to use the onsen but ended up really loving it - so relaxing , super clean, no weird smells as I was expecting and no other people using it. As I was leaving at 11:30pm, 3 women came in to use it - so they must have had the same idea of going later to have some privacy. Essentially it was very much like going to a day spa - in the main changing room, lockers were provided and all the toiletries needed to freshen up and do your hair.

I booked the breakfast package and it was served at 8:30am sharp. A table was all set up for us and the meal was substantial - grilled fish, hot soybean milk with tofu , veggies, salad, fruit, juice, tea, egg, rice and miso soup. Absolutely delicious.

Great experience to try at least once!

Do note that it’s a little town that locals and tourists come for onsen and expect prices to be higher than regular hotels in Kobe, and everything closes VERY early including restaurants. So if you’re looking for dinner at 7:30pm chances are you’re not going...

This is the most beautiful ryokan, run by the most hospitable and genuine managers I've ever met in Japan. The memories of the dinner and breakfast we had at this ryakan will stay with me forever!

However, I gave this ryokan 4 stars out of 5 because we couldn't sleep at all due to the noise from two Japanese teenagers playing computer games next door. To my surprise, there were no people present at the front desk during the night, the only person who is at the ryakan at night is an elderly man who cleans onsens. Despite efforts by this man to calm the kids down, they wouldn't listen, and the elderly man couldn't do much about it. I'm puzzled why two teenagers without a guardian were at this ryokan and why there was no management present overnight. What if someone had a health issue and needed help? Many things can go wrong at night.

Nevertheless, the next morning, the management was extremely apologetic, which we appreciated. We honestly didn't hold any grudges against them. I would definitely return to this ryokan if they had someone on duty at night to ensure guests feel safe and...

The hotel is good but the Korean customers on that day are selfishness and don’t obey the rules in onsen but there is no staff to stop them to do so. In man’s onsen changing room, they stole my towel and then ran away. Inside onsen area, they are playing and talking noisy in the onsen area. There is no considerate to the other users. In the female onsen changing area, my wife said the female Korean customers using the iPhone in the female changing room. They even not care about the rules in this privacy sensitive area. I am talking about this is to reflect there is no staff to standby to prevent some rude customers to do so. We come to the onsen to get relaxed but no come to get frustrated by other customers. I hope the hotel management need to send some staff to standby in the onsen changing room to prevent the rude customer to offend other customers. Especially if you open the business to international customers which have weak...