Kosekiya (Main Building) — Hotel in Obanazawa

A once in a life time experience in Japan's #1 picturesque resort town. One of the more expensive ryokans, but definately worth it, and not as expensive as the Notoya Ryokan (but you get to have a great view of it right in front). The photos on their website and the not-trourist-friendly reservastion experience don't do it justice; this place was 5 star from the moment I parked my car in their dedicated parking; from a quick bus ride to town, to someone waiting to grab my luggage as soon as we got off the bus and walk it to the hotel, to the amazing 'sit-down and have a drink' check-in experience. This Ryokan/Onsen offers a great mix of old traditional charm with modern luxuries. During check in, we were presented with our own personalised woodcut key with a QR code to access our room! A great souvenir. We had reserved the western room facing the river, with our own balcony with a couple of high-chairs and a tall table; perfect for enjoying the river views with your morning coffee. The room was spacious and inviting, well furnished (air conditioning, great lighting controls, well selected furniture), a decent-sized modern bathroom (albeit no shower), and even a working old style rotary-dial telephone! The only downside was privacy required deploying a traditional japanese foldable awning (forgot the japanese name!). Dinner and breakfast is included in our package, as well as unlimited drinks; discounted (and even some free) meals are also included at the nearby restaurant Shirogane. Dinner was served in a restaurant at the entrance of Ginzan Onsen where the bus drops you off; it was modern cuisine with a delicious twist of using local produce like Yamagata beef and local vegetables and fruits (like the famous Yamagato/Hiroshigane cherries). Breakfast was a served in the first floor of the main building, and consisted of a traditional japanese breakfast; a tray of 9 various yet succulent amuses-bouches, as well as some meat and vegatable dishes on the side, with rice and miso soup (yes, it's breakfast!). Unlimited drinks are included during your stay, from good coffee and teas, juices, to local (Sapporo) and import (Heineken) beers, sake, and a selection of wines and other interesting options... The main building also has 2 onsens hot spring spas, but you also get access to the public onsen bathhouse at the...

Me and my wife had a wonderful honeymoon at the Kosekiya. We stayed two nights, and we were well taken care of by the friendly staff - and with extra care by Matso-san.

Getting there was easy: take the train up to Ōishida (the Yamagata Shinkansen, no changes), and a shuttle will be waiting there to take you almost to the door of the hotel. The bus ride takes roughly 30 minutes through some small picturesque villages leading up to the Ginzan Onsen area. It’s very small, perhaps a total of 30 buildings with roughly half being ryokan and half being family run small shops with lots of great souvenirs and gifts.

We had a room with a view over the river and the “Main Street”. The room was in itself as beautiful as the rest of the building. Apparently the building is more than a hundred years old, but a renovation was made of the entire structure last year in June. This can be seen as parts of the original structure (beams, etc) have been left untouched while at the same time integrated with the newly renovated pieces.

Of course, the onsen was one of the main pieces of the stay and Kosekiya offers two rooms in the main building. One for men, and one for women. Which room is for which changes twice per day - at 08:00 and 20:00. Quality was very high, water was nice and sulphuric, and I must have taken six baths in two days.

The food was good, on the second day it was even great. Beware that the food is very traditional with lots of cold pieces and pickled stuff. One example was a pretty much raw little piece of squid arm on the breakfast menu. Everything felt high quality and well made, but perhaps it’s not for everyone. We really enjoyed it though, and the dinner on the second evening was fantastic. All food and drinks are on the house, both at the ryokan as well as the two partner restaurants where you’ll have your lunch and dinner.

Some potential for improvement would be to change the not-so-nice elevator music that loops what feels like every hour. It’s a plinky type of music, some of it felt like covers, and it became somewhat tiresome to hear the same music all the time.

All in all, it was an amazing experience and we would recommend to anyone seeking an onsen experience...

A once in a life time experience. I had choosen this hotel as I wanted the view of Notoya Ryokan, rather than staying in it. I knew it would be expensive and to be honest I had low expectation based on the photos on their website but oh boy, was I surprised when I got there. I had expected an old traditional ryokan - full of characters but lacking in modern comfort but what I got was a beautiful mix of technology and old world charms. During check in, we were presented with our own personalised woodcut key with a QR code to access our room! A great souvenir. We have chosen the western room facing the river. It was spacious, beautifully appointed with (i think) Meji era style furnitures. They even have a working an old style telephone! The room is brightly lit and the air con made the room warm and inviting, perfect as we visited during a blizzard, it was -5 celcius outside! Dinner and breakfast is included and dinner was served in a restuarant at the entrance of Ginzan Onsen. Its degustation with French? twist. It was delicious as expected, using local produces like Yamagata beef and local vegetables. Initially I was shocked that dinner was not on premise but it was a brillant idea since it made us head out and enjoy the beautiful scenery Ginzan Onsen is know for. I am thoroughly enjoyed...