Kashiwaya Ryokan — Hotel in Nakanojo

This is going to be a long review so I'll start from the beginning: We absolutely loved our stay here back in March 2023! My husband and I have a lot of tattoos so we needed to find an onsen that was tattoo-friendly.

Booking was easy and painless since they have an english website and multiple packages to choose from. We ended up getting the full dinner/breakfast package with the shuttle bus, which saved us a lot of travel worry. Once we managed to find the bus stop at Tokyo Station it was a simple exchange of our names and passports before boarding. The ride is 3hrs to the onsen but the shuttle bus has a washroom on board and they also make a pit-stop halfway thru for about 15-20 minutes. I honestly enjoyed the scenic drive into the mountains. It was a nice break being away from the bustling city :)

When we got there the staff were warm and welcoming (they also speak English if you're not confident with your Japanese). Since we took the early bus we signed in and left our luggage with staff and returned later for check-in. We had a few hours to explore the small town along the river which has a few shops and restaurants to go to during the day.

We stayed in the KAME room which has Japanese-style decor. It was spacious with ensuite bathroom and private bath on the patio. The staff had already placed our luggage in the room and explained all the details of our stay and how to use the baths etc. Because we were there for our honeymoon they wrote a little congratulatory note and gave us a package of their bath salts as a gift (they actually sell this and some other goods in the lobby).

During our stay we made sure to use all three private open-air baths. They have a very easy lights system in place that shows when the baths are occupied, no reservation times required which I found very convenient! The baths were beautiful and HOT, which was nice with the mild weather. The rooms attached to the baths are well stocked with towels and other items like a dryer, disposable brushes and hair ties etc.

The regular course dinner we had was amazing! So much food and so many different textures and flavours. Plus the presentation was beautiful. Our friends that also stayed had the vegan option which was just as creative and substantial. When we went back to our rooms after dinner the staff had already set up our futons which was a nice surpise. Breakfast the next morning was just as good! They also have a seperate sitting area with a coffee bar that is available anytime.

Overall, this ryokan checked all the boxes for me. Friendly/helpful staff, extremely clean and well kept, peaceful location by the river, delicious food and fairly priced. We only stayed 1 night but I could have easily stayed another. I recommend this place to anyone needing an opportunity for some peace...

I was on a quest to experience a relaxing natural setting with rotenburo in the snow, and this place exceeded my expectations. The facilities are nice and traditional - I had 4 pairs of slippers (outdoor, indoor, toilet and balcony), in addition to a nice yukata and haori. The food was excellent and very traditional. There is a steak option, if you don't like all the kaiseki plates. The staff were all so friendly and helpful. Absolutely every request I made, even when out of the ordinary, was accommodated. The baths were spectacular! The public (for guests only) bath was empty every time I used it. And, I never waited more than 15 minutes to get a private rotenburo.

The three private rotenburo are all great. The little changing rooms have a heater, the water is hot (even in sub-zero temperatures) and the little garden with stars above makes for a perfect setting. Bathing here, with the snow falling overhead, in my own private rotenburo, ties for my best bathing experience in 27 years of Japanese living and travel. The other best bath, is a public seaside konyoku rotenburo on Yakushima island. Kashiwaya Ryokan even had traditional umbrellas & straw hats to wear, in the bath, while it's snowing or raining. That was such a nice touch.

One of the reasons I selected this place, was the nice public bath located just across the street and river. Well, there was so much nice bathing at my ryokan, during 3 days I did not have the time to go to the nice village bath. I did briefly think it might be nice to use the massage chairs they probably have at the village bath, since that was the only amenity missing at the ryokan. The tiny village has a very natural and traditional setting. There was a small convenience store, one restaurant (closed for the holidays) and a few large and small hotels/ryokans. I think the only elementary school has closed due to dwindling population. The walk up to the dam/lake was nice. I was able to observe/photograph a kamoshika and a troupe of monkeys. And, it seems there are bears in summer. I only passed a handful of humans while out walking.

Overall, I would definitely return here. And, I would say this was the best value, and overall experience, I have even had at an...

We originally looked at this Ryokan due to the vegan kaiseki option. This is quite a rare thing and on previous Japan trips we have been denied these kind of meals as the Ryokan have no experience with vegan food. So, we were very excited that Kashiwaya Ryokan offered a vegan option.

The Ryokan facilities are fantastic. Really big rooms (we stayed in the room with the outdoor footbath) and some cute communal areas like the library. There are public baths available but the 3 private baths were the main attraction for us. We tried two of these and they were lovely, clean and very relaxing.

The meals (dinner and breakfast are provided) were fantastic. It was really special being offered so many different types of dishes and having them all be reliably vegan. I can't vouch for the non-vegan food but I can say that there is obviously some very talented chefs behind this who are putting a lot of effort into these meals.

Finally, I'll touch on the town of Shima Onsen. There is actually a small pizza place called Shima Terrace in town which is part of the overall company, Kashiwaya group, that runs this onsen. We didn't know this in advance but stumbled in there as they had a vegan pizza option and when we arrived in Shima Onsen we had a bit of time to kill before check-in. Shima Terrace is a lovely pizza restaurant and we really enjoyed our food, local beer and a friendly chat with the two ladies running the restaurant on the day. I wanted to add this quick recommendation on to this review in case other vegan travelers were planning to go to this Ryokan, it is worth knowing there is also a great spot for lunch in the town.

In summary we had a great time at Kashiwaya Ryokan. Everything about the experience was brilliant. It may seem like the cost for one night is quite a lot but overall I felt the value was good. For one-night stay at a hotel, an amazing dinner, amazing breakfast and free use of private baths it actually really becomes...