Sansuikaku — Hotel in Nasu

My wife and I stayed here for our 2nd wedding anniversary. We live in Tokyo and drove up here for 2 nights. |Service was impeccable, from the first welcome to the last goodbye. We were loyally (even royally) looked after by the lovely Ito-San, who made sure we enjoyed one of the most relaxing holidays we've ever experienced in Japan. |The private onsens are a real bonus. Although I'm told you sometimes have to queue up, we were able to get in to a private onsen each evening without waiting. What at absolute bliss to soak away your worries under the outdoor sky! |Our package included dinner and breakfast and that was another highlight of the stay. The menu was intricately and delicately prepared and everything was fantastic - lots of fresh seasonal products, beautifully combined and presented. You must come here if you want to try traditional Japanese cuisine. |The room was lovely as well. So traditional, with tatami mats in the living room and the bedroom, and with very comfortable futons in the bedroom. I understand the place was renovated a couple of years ago, and therefore it has some modern elements but without losing the charm of tradition. There was no shower/bath in our room but we didn't mind as it 'forced' us to make use of the onsen. |My wife and I both speak Japanese. I think staying here might be a challenge for travellers who don't speak Japanese, but no doubt the staff will make every effort to try to communicate with you. Do take along a good dictionary with you though! And an...

My wife and I stayed here for our 2nd wedding anniversary. We live in Tokyo and drove up here for 2 nights. |Service was impeccable, from the first welcome to the last goodbye. We were loyally (even royally) looked after by the lovely Ito-San, who made sure we enjoyed one of the most relaxing holidays we've ever experienced in Japan. |The private onsens are a real bonus. Although I'm told you sometimes have to queue up, we were able to get in to a private onsen each evening without waiting. What at absolute bliss to soak away your worries under the outdoor sky! |Our package included dinner and breakfast and that was another highlight of the stay. The menu was intricately and delicately prepared and everything was fantastic - lots of fresh seasonal products, beautifully combined and presented. You must come here if you want to try traditional Japanese cuisine. |The room was lovely as well. So traditional, with tatami mats in the living room and the bedroom, and with very comfortable futons in the bedroom. I understand the place was renovated a couple of years ago, and therefore it has some modern elements but without losing the charm of tradition. There was no shower/bath in our room but we didn't mind as it 'forced' us to make use of the onsen. |My wife and I both speak Japanese. I think staying here might be a challenge for travellers who don't speak Japanese, but no doubt the staff will make every effort to try to communicate with you. Do take along a good dictionary with you though! And an...

If you like luxury Japanese ryokans, you will love Bettei Kai as I did. The warm greeting and tea service upon arrival are par for the course at this level of ryokan, but the atmosphere of the bar-lounge where it happens is nice solid wood and understated rustic luxury. Our room was supposedly one of the most run down in terms of years since refurbishing, but it looked great to us. Spacious and tastefully decorated with a nice quiet separate bedroom. The kicker, of course, is the giant rotenburo outdoor natural hot spring onsen bath. The very hot (probably around 60 degrees C!) undiluted hot spring trickles constantly into the giant rock tub, so that it is always full of fresh hot onsen water. You may actually need to add cold water from the spigot to make it bearable. Dinner and breakfast are served in your room, and the food is wonderful and plentiful as expected. The service is very subtle and professional as well. Oh, and you get free beer, tomato juice and a local Sprite-like beverage (known as "cider" in Japan) in your room fridge! All in all, a pretty flawless experience, and only two hours from Tokyo. Usually one has to go much further away from Tokyo to get this level of luxury and isolation, with the possible exception of Hakone, which tends to be a bit...