Hotel Fukinomori — Hotel in Nagiso

Disagreeable stay where we had the continuing feeing they were both squeezing guests for as much money as they could (extra fees and then also shortchanging on many things) as well as disorganized. I had one of the worst nights of my life as it's the only time I've ever been given only one single thin futon to sleep on. The management unwillingly provided us 2 more extra futons for our party of 4, but at least that made sleep a little better, though we then squeezed to fit us all on 3 sets of doubled futons. The housekeeping also clearly never vacuumed the room before our stay nor during our stay. They also did not empty our rubbish during our stay. Our sheets also smelled of feet even on our first night, so I doubt they were even changed to fresh sheets for us. They only provide one size of house slippers, which anyway fall off easily even if they fit. Food was just so-so, though presented somewhat nicely. We were placed in a room of the restaurant where only foreigners sat, separate from any Japanese. However, the management does not speak English. They do not serve coffee for breakfast but you can get yourself some from the lounge. No food is allowed nor provided in the lounge. I believe it's only meant to sit in for a very brief time, not as a lounge, per se. I don't understand why this place has high ratings. One up-side: They do provide a free shuttle to a limited area around, however, including the popular nearby stops of the Nakasendo trail (Nagiso station, Magome, Tsumago). There are so many other onsen hotels in the area. I recommend to...

Wanted to love this hotel but sadly it didn't quite cut it. Messaged beforehand and asked if we could book the shuttle from Nagiso, while it did show up they didn't confirm beforehand which caused unnecessary stress. We found that the staff were nice, but generally quite unhelpful, e.g. we asked about luggage forwarding from Tsumago to Magome and they said it wasn't possible (it is) and they weren't helpful with our questions about buses. You'd expect for the price that they would be more willing to help.

The setting is absolutely beautiful, and the common areas are lovely. The room was tired and dated and whilst clean, it could really do with a renovation (peeling wallpaper, stained tatami floor etc.). The dinner was not to our tastes at all, ( included horse intestine) which is probably down to our being westerners but it would have been nice to have a bit of choice! Finally, we booked the private onsen which was just a too-hot jacuzzi in a shed and wasn't open air like we had expected from pictures. All in all, it was one of the more expensive hotels we stayed in on our trip, but sadly the worst - would...

Fantastic ryokan accomodation in a serene setting.

We stayed in a traditional ryokan styled room with a gorgeous view of the mountains and greenery.

The onsens are beautiful and switch over daily, so you can experience both sides / views (as the genders are separated as per usual onsen etiquette).

We paid a little extra to use the private onsen as a couple in the evening and the view was beautiful and starlit (I recommend to try this once as it is so peaceful and very secluded, please wear sandals or slip on shoes to walk to the top as the floor is pebbly!).

The dinner was excellent with an array of dishes presented beautifully.

The hotel staff are very friendly and we had a very helpful, multilingual waiter help us with the dinner menu.

I would highly recommend staying at hotel Fuki No Mori as it was so peaceful. It also has a lovely bus driver who can take you and pick you up to the train station and bus stop (for the Tsumago - Magome trail) for free (just ensure to call ahead of your arrival from the train...