Notoya Ryokan — Hotel in Obanazawa

Stayed at the Notoya Ryokan in the Ginzan Onsen town from 18-20 December 2016. ||||We arrived at Oishida station on the Shinkansen from Tokyo. This is the nearest station to the Ginzan Onsen town. The ryokan has a mini-bus waiting at the station for all arriving trains to fetch their guests to the ryokan. It is a further 30-minute ride from the train station before we reached the ryokan. As the roads are very narrow, we were let off the mini-bus about 50 metres away and had to make our way to the ryokan on foot. ||||Built in 1921, the ryokan is a major landmark in town. If you are a fan of the 80s Japanese drama serial Oshin, you would recognise this was where the first few episodes were filmed. ||||At check in, we were presented with a map of the ryokan and explained where everything is - where dinner and breakfast will be served, where the onsens are etc. There are two onsens in the ryokan, one on the fourth floor and one in the basement. The one on the fourth floor is open from 5 in the morning till midnight and is open to all. The one in the basement was supposedly dug out by the owner and is on a first come first serve basis. You just have to put up the sign that says closed, lock the door behind you and the whole basement onsen is yours for as long as you like. ||||The room we had faces the main street and also the river. The sound of the river flowing is audible even through the closed windows, we thought it was quite relaxing. This is a typical ryokan where the whole room is tatami and the beddings will be laid out for you by staff when you are having dinner. Beware of the rather low doors if you are taller than the typical Japanese. There is no shower or bathing facilities in the room because, well, that's what the onsens are for right?||||Quality of service is, of course, impeccable. Being the Oshin fans we are, we asked about a door curtain in the lobby with Oshin designs, whether if it is for sale anywhere. Unfortunately it was not as it was one-of-a-kind presented to the ryokan by NHK when they filmed here, so we thought nothing of it. The next time we were in the lobby, staff told us they had asked around the souvenir shops in town and presented us with three different Oshin door curtains of different colours. We were bowled over by their thoughtfulness and bought all three. ||||If you are here in winter (like we did) and do not have proper shoes to trudge through the snow, have no fear, for the ryokan also has waterproof rubber boots of all sizes which you can borrow. ||||Breakfast is served in a common room on the fourth floor while dinner is served in a private room also on the fourth floor. There were at least 14 dishes for both breakfast and dinner. All of which were carefully prepared with the freshest ingredients from the local area and presented beautifully. Absolutely delicious is an understatement. ||||Ginzan Onsen town is small, really small. There isn't very much to do besides hanging around the souvenir shops and the few cafes. A short walk from the ryokan is the 白銀 waterfall. There are also foot onsens along the river bank for you to soak your feet while admiring the view of the river. ||||Checking out was done in a jiffy. The owner of the ryokan personally bid every guest farewell with a small gift. The same mini-bus drove us back to...

Stayed at the Notoya Ryokan in the Ginzan Onsen town from 18-20 December 2016. ||||We arrived at Oishida station on the Shinkansen from Tokyo. This is the nearest station to the Ginzan Onsen town. The ryokan has a mini-bus waiting at the station for all arriving trains to fetch their guests to the ryokan. It is a further 30-minute ride from the train station before we reached the ryokan. As the roads are very narrow, we were let off the mini-bus about 50 metres away and had to make our way to the ryokan on foot. ||||Built in 1921, the ryokan is a major landmark in town. If you are a fan of the 80s Japanese drama serial Oshin, you would recognise this was where the first few episodes were filmed. ||||At check in, we were presented with a map of the ryokan and explained where everything is - where dinner and breakfast will be served, where the onsens are etc. There are two onsens in the ryokan, one on the fourth floor and one in the basement. The one on the fourth floor is open from 5 in the morning till midnight and is open to all. The one in the basement was supposedly dug out by the owner and is on a first come first serve basis. You just have to put up the sign that says closed, lock the door behind you and the whole basement onsen is yours for as long as you like. ||||The room we had faces the main street and also the river. The sound of the river flowing is audible even through the closed windows, we thought it was quite relaxing. This is a typical ryokan where the whole room is tatami and the beddings will be laid out for you by staff when you are having dinner. Beware of the rather low doors if you are taller than the typical Japanese. There is no shower or bathing facilities in the room because, well, that's what the onsens are for right?||||Quality of service is, of course, impeccable. Being the Oshin fans we are, we asked about a door curtain in the lobby with Oshin designs, whether if it is for sale anywhere. Unfortunately it was not as it was one-of-a-kind presented to the ryokan by NHK when they filmed here, so we thought nothing of it. The next time we were in the lobby, staff told us they had asked around the souvenir shops in town and presented us with three different Oshin door curtains of different colours. We were bowled over by their thoughtfulness and bought all three. ||||If you are here in winter (like we did) and do not have proper shoes to trudge through the snow, have no fear, for the ryokan also has waterproof rubber boots of all sizes which you can borrow. ||||Breakfast is served in a common room on the fourth floor while dinner is served in a private room also on the fourth floor. There were at least 14 dishes for both breakfast and dinner. All of which were carefully prepared with the freshest ingredients from the local area and presented beautifully. Absolutely delicious is an understatement. ||||Ginzan Onsen town is small, really small. There isn't very much to do besides hanging around the souvenir shops and the few cafes. A short walk from the ryokan is the 白銀 waterfall. There are also foot onsens along the river bank for you to soak your feet while admiring the view of the river. ||||Checking out was done in a jiffy. The owner of the ryokan personally bid every guest farewell with a small gift. The same mini-bus drove us back to...

The hotel staff was waiting for us when we arrived at the carpark to fetch our luggage as the carpark is quite a distance from the ryokan. No cars are allowed on the Main Street of Ginzan Onsen. We had put 1 change of clothes into our haversack but realised that it wasn’t a problem even if we want them to carry our big luggages to the ryokan. Check-in was a jiffy and I was given a map of the ryokan. Although this is a historical building, it is very well maintained with shiny wooden stairs. My hubby said that amongst our 17 days trip in Tohoku, this hotel provided the best service throughout our stay. From the time you check in to remove your shoes till the end of the stay, they really take care of you. There is always someone in the hotel around the corner to take care of our needs if we need help. The common bath is good but the private bath on top of the hill is fantastic. But before that, you need to walk up 85 steps and up a slight slope. Once you arrive at the private bath, it’s all worth the effort. This bath offers a good autumn foliage view among the trees and also has a far away view of the waterfall. ||Food are delicious and very sumptuous. Our dinner and breakfast are in another annex building. Best part of this historical building is it has a lift! ||As this ryokan is centrally located, we are able to go for a walk at Ginzan Onsen at night and the lights are very romantic. Ginzan Onsen also has an outdoor foot bath. There are many nice restaurants around the area and also a shop that sells tasty curry buns.||I must thank Japanese Guest House who helped me book a good room (6 mths in advanced) facing the main road and with soothing river sounds. I saw a lot of people pointing at the main door of this ryokan and taking photos day and night from my room and I am so glad that I am able to take a photo of my face with their signature view. ||We hope to be back again for the...