Yamabiko Ryokan — Hotel in Minamioguni

This Ryokan is worth the 3 hour bus ride from Fukuoka. Its a remote place but i think if you have even the slightest love for nautre, yoy will truly appreciate the forest there, river flowing right in the middle of the ryokan where you will enjoy beautiful scene at the bridge. Carefully chosen interior and exterior design all of them are of Japanese traditional design is all amazing. There are certain things i would like to tell you.||Things to consider before choosing this Onsen (hot spring)||1. Do you really enjoy Onsen? The place ( Kuamoto) is a remote onsen town, 3 hours journey from Kukuoka where you will not have anything much to do. If you are going there, choose to stay max 2.5 days unless you have HUGE love for hot spring. ( i stayed there for 1.5 days)||2. They provide very traditional fine Japanese dining and breakfast with high level of excellency BUT warning to ppl from USA, alot of Japanese food might be 'slimy' for you: Mochi, Japanese Pudding, Tofu etc. However the quality of food is undoubtfully amazing with alot of care. You will FEEL the care from the service they provide. I can guarantee that.||3. No problem even if you have tattoos. |There are 2 public outdoor Onsen and about 7 indoor private Onsen rooms ( approximately usable for max 4 ppl at once) you can enjoy. I did personally asked them if tattoo can be an issue and the answer was no. ( the guy at the front did say "yes" but that was due to his lack of English :p )||So if you choose to stay at this Ryokan, there are things to do before visiting Japan||1. Make an appointment at their website to pick you up at the bus stop. When you contact them, they will ask you when you arrive there at Kuamoto Onsen station.||2. You MUST arrange the bus from Fukuoka to Kuamoto (the ryokan place).|If you havent made the reservation, bring your passport and make one at Tenjin bus station. (Try Hakata bus station too but i am not sure with this one)||Before visiting Kuamoto||1. They provide dinner and breakfast, but not enough alcohol. Bring them with you before you get on the bus to Kuamoto. Just keep it in the fridge. You will thank me for this after hot spring begging for icy cold beer (they do have a small selction of drinks).||2. If you are coming from regions with alot of hot spices ( Mexico, Sichuan of China, Korea, India etc) i recommend you to take an spicy instant noodle with you. The food is excellent but they are all...

This Ryokan is worth the 3 hour bus ride from Fukuoka. Its a remote place but i think if you have even the slightest love for nautre, yoy will truly appreciate the forest there, river flowing right in the middle of the ryokan where you will enjoy beautiful scene at the bridge. Carefully chosen interior and exterior design all of them are of Japanese traditional design is all amazing. There are certain things i would like to tell you.||Things to consider before choosing this Onsen (hot spring)||1. Do you really enjoy Onsen? The place ( Kuamoto) is a remote onsen town, 3 hours journey from Kukuoka where you will not have anything much to do. If you are going there, choose to stay max 2.5 days unless you have HUGE love for hot spring. ( i stayed there for 1.5 days)||2. They provide very traditional fine Japanese dining and breakfast with high level of excellency BUT warning to ppl from USA, alot of Japanese food might be 'slimy' for you: Mochi, Japanese Pudding, Tofu etc. However the quality of food is undoubtfully amazing with alot of care. You will FEEL the care from the service they provide. I can guarantee that.||3. No problem even if you have tattoos. |There are 2 public outdoor Onsen and about 7 indoor private Onsen rooms ( approximately usable for max 4 ppl at once) you can enjoy. I did personally asked them if tattoo can be an issue and the answer was no. ( the guy at the front did say "yes" but that was due to his lack of English :p )||So if you choose to stay at this Ryokan, there are things to do before visiting Japan||1. Make an appointment at their website to pick you up at the bus stop. When you contact them, they will ask you when you arrive there at Kuamoto Onsen station.||2. You MUST arrange the bus from Fukuoka to Kuamoto (the ryokan place).|If you havent made the reservation, bring your passport and make one at Tenjin bus station. (Try Hakata bus station too but i am not sure with this one)||Before visiting Kuamoto||1. They provide dinner and breakfast, but not enough alcohol. Bring them with you before you get on the bus to Kuamoto. Just keep it in the fridge. You will thank me for this after hot spring begging for icy cold beer (they do have a small selction of drinks).||2. If you are coming from regions with alot of hot spices ( Mexico, Sichuan of China, Korea, India etc) i recommend you to take an spicy instant noodle with you. The food is excellent but they are all...

We were there July 4, 2025.

I took a group of 15 friends, including my wife and 10-year old son, to Yamabiko Ryokan because I wanted them to experience a traditional ryokan and Onsen. Kurokawa Onsen is well known in Kumamoto-ken and I remember the area being more charming when I took my pregnant wife there 11 years ago. This time it didn't come across as quaint and charming so I don't think I would go back to Kurokawa again if I go back to Japan but I would try a different Onsen area like Kagoshima or Beppu if I'm back on Kyushu.

Having said that, Yamabiko Ryokan was GREAT! They have TWO open air baths, one being bigger than the other, that they alternate on a daily basis so that male and female guests can enjoy it on separate days. There are no "washing" facilities (i.e. stool, body wash, shampoo, etc) at the open air Onsen but the non-open air baths have the bathing facilities. There are also SIX private onsens you can try out. You can also look on your TV to see which ones are occupied. I was able to try 5 out of the 6 and each one has its own unique charm. One is very deep so you can stand in it. I am 5'11" and could stand with my chin touching the top of the water.

I ordered the kaiseki dinner and breakfast meals as I wanted all of my friends to experience this exquisite and tasty (sometimes maybe not to your liking) meals. It was nice to have everyone dressed in their yukatas eating their meals or walking around the little town. We also bought a 3-onsen pass so you can walk around Kurokawa to try out any other hotels that participate in the program. I highly recommend Yamabiko onsen.

Side note: I must say that Japanese websites (even with their English versions) aren't always the easiest to navigate. Not only for ryokan/hotel stays but for simple things like bus or train tickets. For Yamabiko Ryokan, I had to make 5 separate reservations for 5 separate rooms instead of being able to make 1 reservation for 5 rooms.

Some of the staff spoke English which was helpful. All of the ryokan staff were kind...