Kurokawa Onsen Okunoyu — Hotel in Minamioguni

As a half Japanese and half American man, I feel I can touch on the points about this onsen foreigners might particularly care about.

Wi-Fi: Personal Wi-Fi per room. Connection isn’t exactly impressive, but was enough to watch videos and play games.

Bed: There is a luscious, comfy bed. Great for people that don’t exactly like sleeping on tatami mats.

Service: I found the service to be excellent. Not only were they extremely polite, but they were very kind. The handmade AnnNinDoufu (Insanely good dessert) that was served at the end of dinner was so good, that we offered to pay for another batch. Due to the fact that they had only made enough for each guest, they were unable to fulfill our request. However, a few hours later, I hear a knock and the door, and behold! One of the staff members delivered 4 delicious AnnNinDoufu’s right to our door step. Apparently one family hasn’t end up touching it at all. And of course, they refused any money we tried to pay. So yeah, pretty nice.

Food: The food was where I was pretty let down. As a foreigner, (cough cough especially American) you may have a very hard time—as I did. The food was all exquisite in some way, and while that would please those who adore Washoku, it didn’t work out very well for me. Due to the lack of traditional dishes, I had a very hard time eating the unique and all too bizarre food that was being served. I also admit that the quality of the food wasn’t exactly remarkable either. Yes, it’s good. But considering how expensive a night at this place is, you’d probably expect a tiny bit more.

Onsen: Perhaps the most crucial part of any successful ryokan is the onsen. I found it to be slightly too hot, and I felt that the variety and amount of onsens were quite limited. HOWEVER, the outdoor onsen near the waterfall had an excellent view. The onsen itself was also tremendously relaxing and if I was given the chance to jump in again, I’d do it without a second thought.

That’s basically all there is to it. Note that my reviews are honest and every part of the ryokan I wasn’t satisfied with, is listed. Since my review is focused more on things to look out for, I have no intention of scaring off customers or creating a negative reputation.

In the end, I found this place to be an expensive but enjoyable stay. Would definitely recommend to those who are in love with the onsen and...

Great Onsen resort that has a variety of rooms and onsens you can try. Stayed for a night which included access to all the onsens on the property and a kaiseki style breakfast and dinner which was included with the room.

I stayed in one of their newer rooms that came with a private outdoor onsen. My friends stayed in the other rooms available one with a private indoor onsen and one without that was located in the main building. None of us experienced any problems with our rooms and had a great stay.

Upon booking, we were asked by the staff about our arrival method and time. We were picked up from the bus stop and driven to the property as well as driven back when we checked out. This was a life savor considering we were a group of 5 with a bit of luggage.

All the staff were really friendly and while not all of them spoke English or Japanese well (foreign workers), they did their best. There are some reviews talking about these workers being rude but we did not experience any of that. We also fully understand how hard it is for these properties to find willing workers in such a remote area of Japan. The Okami of the place was very attentive and was really nice to us!

There are a lot of different onsens on the property. Some are mixed gender, some are female only and some are by a reservation basis. Regardless, there is something for everyone’s comfort level and they provide an easy to understand chart detailing all the different onsens they have as well as their availability.

The area itself is an onsen town and you’ll find many similar properties each with its own unique onsens. This property is about a 10 minute walk to the main area of the town where you’ll find a few places selling food as well as a local convenience store selling local specialties, souvenirs, snacks and alcohol. I definitely recommend stopping by here to buy not only souvenirs but snacks and drinks to have on the property! You will see everyone from all the different properties out and about wearing their yukatas so don’t be shy to wear the ones provided by the onsen.

The dinner and breakfast we were served was amazing. Lots of variety and was really tasty. Loved the atmosphere of the dining space and was a great experience.

Will definitely visit again in the future and hope this town stays around when...

I Onsen hopped, staying at 3 different ryokans in Kurokawa. I so wanted Okunoyu to be good. Its infrastructure was streets ahead of any competitor. Nestled besides a waterfall, the location was superb. One cannot get any closer to nature. The ryokan was spacious. It had a large lobby, a hall for dinner, a hall for breakfast and even a hall for coffee! One can look into the beautiful forest for hours seated in these halls. It was the only ryokan I visited that had proper beds. The room was large enough. Other ryokans had to push aside its small dining table to roll out the futon beds which when too thin, hurts the back. This is a major plus for older non-Japanese folks like me who are not used to sitting on the floor and need a rest on a proper bed during the day.||||Okunoyu has many Onsens including private baths, gender separated baths and 3 outdoor mixed Onsens, which is a rarity. You will not be disappointed if you are an Onsen fan. ||||However, its strength turns out to be its Achilles heel. Overall, the place looked rather unkempt. The big hallways were dingy and inhospitable. The Front Counter was manned by hostile Japanese men. I arrived an hour earlier and was told as a matter-of-fact that check in time was 3pm, as if to chase me out. He made no offer to help me with my luggage, and when asked, unwillingly safe-kept my luggage while I figured out how to kill time. Upon departure, the same few Male receptionists refused to greet or help me while I struggled to load my luggages into my car. He stood around me to chat with the gardener! I felt like a porter, and he was my guest. It shows you where his priorities are!||||When I brought a bottle ofJapanese Sake to dinner, the Male Receptionist gave me the deathstare. He disallowed it even though I was prepared to pay a cockage charge. Yea, I know he does not make the rules but he could at least be polite in explaining it. Other ryokans in Kurokawa rushed to put my Sake in an ice bucket and provided Sake glasses for free.||||By Japanese standards, Okunoyu's service standard is a crime! Never have I encountered a Japanese retailer, shop or customer service so uninterested in my business.||||Perhaps there is wisdom in having women and not male chauvinists handling the Front Desk. You have to point a gun at me to make me...