Houshi Ryokan — Hotel in Komatsu

You know you are going to get a great experience and stay when a Ryokan has been here since 718 (founded over 1300 years ago!!). That in itself is significant.

First, some details. You can either arrive at JR Awazu station or JR Kagaonsen station. They have a shuttle bus service available to pick you up! The moment you arrive, you are greeted by a large group of staff. They first direct you to their tea-lounge (even before check in!!). There you take a sip of their fabulous tea and snack. From there you get to view an amazing garden situated within the hotel.

We then proceeded to the check-in process. Just fyi, English is very limited. I had to utilize Google translate to help assist with the process. Afterwards, we were directed to our room with our primary hotel hostess. Her hospitality was beyond our expectation. At one point I offered to carry my own luggage, she politely declined, indicating I should just focus on enjoying our stay. When we arrived at our room, it was jaw-dropping. We have never been to a room with two floors and connecting to our own private garden (just fyi we booked a duplex suite with jacuzzi for just the two of us). Our hostess sat us in the main living room area, where she served us fresh tea with snacks (notice a trend? Tea is their primary focus and boy is it good). From there, we were left with enjoying the rest of the hotel facility, mainly their public onsen, and our private open air jacuzzi.

Public onsen: separated to males and females' as excepted. Large area to first shower, and then you have the option of an indoor or outdoor onsen. Within the onsen region, you have a foot massager, cold water station, and a hair-drying region. There are lockers.

The facility itself you can walk around (there is the public garden, as well as our own private). Provides different vibes during day and night. Be careful of mosquitos during those warm weather.

Food: Our first traditional Kaiseki dinner. It was amazing and filling. Each dish provided with its own unique taste, filled with its own beauty and savourness. It was really a journey into their 46 generational history. The breakfast course was just as amazing (we scheduled our breakfast at the earliest time at 0700h) as we would have to catch our earliest shuttle at 0930h. Just fyi the meals can take a long time (2-3h for dinner, and 1h for breakfast).

Room: While we spent most of our time at the living room region, and our open air jacuzzi, the actual bedroom is upstairs (where they lay the tatami bedding during dinner hours). It was our first tatami experience, so it certain was unique to us.

It was only one night that we stayed. Wished we can stay longer to continue to soak this experience. I came away amazed by their gracious hospitality. I wish we could be there as the trees change in color. But nonetheless, you will be fascinated by every aspect...

We stayed in Enmeikaku, the VIP hall. The price was around 100,000 yen per person (about 650$ per person) for around 4 people. Overall, we spent more than 2500$ for one night. But the experience was stressful.

I would not say that it’s worth coming as a family here. Maybe as a couple the price becomes worth it.

The hall itself is stunning and a real piece of history. The staff at the front desk and in the room had very kind and courteous service. I was also deeply impressed by the beauty of the entire property.

However, I must mention that the checkout process is unacceptable. There was no prior notice in the morning that the card reader was unavailable, so I was unable to prepare cash in advance. It is difficult to expect guests to handle such large amounts of cash without notice.

As a result, a visit I had scheduled that same morning with another ryokan was delayed, and I had to leave in a very rushed manner because they found no solution.

Today their only solution is to send a Japanese wire transfer, that doesn’t work for international accounts, or cash by post, which is unsafe. I asked for clarification on how to proceed, and was left with no answer by AryPutra from the front staff. So I still did not pay my bill today and keep messaging them.

I find this deeply concerning for a “VIP” experience of 2500...

Being the second oldest hotel in the world, this was a cool place to stay.

The reception staff and hospitality here was top notch. As i pulled up in my taxi, they were waiting in front of the hotel and knew my name. I was immediately whisked inside where they serve me hot tea in the lobby.

The onsen was great, and the morning sunlight in the room was gorgeous. The garden was INCREDIBLE!

Cons:

Parts of the hotel seem outdated (including the bathrooms in the room). As a family owned hotel on quite a large property, I understand that it would probably be very expensive for them to renovate and they likely need to prioritize other maintenance costs.

The location is kind of far removed from other areas you might be visiting in Japan, and there is not a ton to do nearby.

Overall this is a cool hotel, but if your time is limited in Japan, I wouldn't necessarily consider it a "must see". I'm grateful that I was able to check...