Ryokan Yumotoso — Hotel in Minamioguni

This was one of the nicest properties we stayed in during our trip to Japan. There is a small car park beside the ryokan which has around 13 rooms. I understand that like ours, all of them face over the small stream which runs behind the property. The room was very spacious and beautiful. It had a private sink and toilet, together with a safe and free wifi. Whilst you sleep on the traditional mattresses on the floor, we made use of spare ones to make them slightly more comfortable for the uninitiated and the room thankfully had 2 western chairs and a small table. These were in a small seating area, also overlooking the stream. We slept well, listening to the soothing sound of running water. Traditional Japanese meals are served in private dining rooms, some with table and chairs and others with low tables and sunken seating areas. All of our meals were delicious and beautifully presented in numerous delicate dishes and bowls. The lovely staff went out of their way to provide vegetarian options for us. The hotel has two private onsen baths (male and female) and then three private onsen baths – one made of cedar wood, one from rock and one amusingly called The Cauldron. In the latter there are literally two deep cauldrons, each taking one person. We were thrilled to hear that these are free for guests to use and you don’t have to book them; you just use them as they become available. Each of the private onsen have screened openings, meanings that you can keep your dignity/privacy whilst increasing ventilation. I had been anxious about using the onsen but as we elected to just use the private ones, English embarrassment was reduced and they were extremely relaxing. In addition to all of these wonderful features, every member of staff was exceptionally friendly and helpful despite the language barriers. We were made to feel really welcome. We had to tear ourselves away, being very sad to leave but taking away...

This was one of the nicest properties we stayed in during our trip to Japan. There is a small car park beside the ryokan which has around 13 rooms. I understand that like ours, all of them face over the small stream which runs behind the property. The room was very spacious and beautiful. It had a private sink and toilet, together with a safe and free wifi. Whilst you sleep on the traditional mattresses on the floor, we made use of spare ones to make them slightly more comfortable for the uninitiated and the room thankfully had 2 western chairs and a small table. These were in a small seating area, also overlooking the stream. We slept well, listening to the soothing sound of running water. Traditional Japanese meals are served in private dining rooms, some with table and chairs and others with low tables and sunken seating areas. All of our meals were delicious and beautifully presented in numerous delicate dishes and bowls. The lovely staff went out of their way to provide vegetarian options for us. The hotel has two private onsen baths (male and female) and then three private onsen baths – one made of cedar wood, one from rock and one amusingly called The Cauldron. In the latter there are literally two deep cauldrons, each taking one person. We were thrilled to hear that these are free for guests to use and you don’t have to book them; you just use them as they become available. Each of the private onsen have screened openings, meanings that you can keep your dignity/privacy whilst increasing ventilation. I had been anxious about using the onsen but as we elected to just use the private ones, English embarrassment was reduced and they were extremely relaxing. In addition to all of these wonderful features, every member of staff was exceptionally friendly and helpful despite the language barriers. We were made to feel really welcome. We had to tear ourselves away, being very sad to leave but taking away...

I did my reservation via their Japanese website (Using Google Chrome Translate). All correspondence I emailed them were in Japanese. I hope the translation wasn’t too off 🤣. Anyway, it did it’s work since we managed to communicate. The ryokan just took longer than I like to reply (around a week). |In our correspondence I had informed of my need for a pick-up from the bus stop. I mentioned my bus’ eta and that I’d call once arrived (as per their instruction). I was pleasantly surprise to see someone holding a placard for a Yumotoso at the bus stop. ||Room - Special request for room to be on the same floor as reception was granted. |Room was really nice albeit a tad small. Not uncomfortably small but for the price we paid, it was the smallest room I had encountered in my multiple experience with ryokan stays. Our rate (Half board) was ¥30,800 (for 2). It’s the most expensive stay during this Kyushu 7 nights trip. The room had a nice river view. Constant and pleasant sound of water. It was really nice. I love the low chairs by the window, they swivelled! ||There was an English speaking staff. The dinner server didn’t speak English well but had a small notebook with the questions she required the answer to in multiple languages. Love it that they made the effort. ||Onsen - Pretty nice private onsens. Public Onsens (1 male 1 female, 1 indoor & 1 outdoor - Not really outdoor actually) are a bit on the small side. ||Meals - Requests for no pork, basashi & sashimi were honoured. Presentations were beautiful. I enjoyed breakfast more than dinner. Just wish they had put us at tatami dining for a more authentic Japanese experience. ||Check out - They accepted foreign credit card. Cashier straight away prompted whether I’d like to pay with credit card or cash. I was ready to pay cash since I read that they don’t...