Yusaya Japanese Inn — Hotel in Osaki

Yusaya is a traditional ryokan that's been run by descendants of the same family for more than 400 years. The current building is about 70 years old, so it feels like a proper ryokan (and it's cold like one in the winter! The rooms are well-heated though). Our room was nothing fancy, one tatami section where we were fed our meals and slept on futon, and one western-style room with a sink, a small fridge for a minibar and two living room chairs. The toilet was shared in the hallway. The bath is a hot spring bath, one for men and one for women. The ryokan also has a small outdoor bath that you can reserve for 30 minutes. It's in a small standalone cabin across the street and up the hill, and has a nice view of the hilly, pine-tree covered landscape. The water can be hot, though. Add some cold water from the hose if you need to temper it. Dinner was your typical ryokan kaiseki that leaves you stuffed. Breakfast too. Naruko Onsen is a small hot spring town with several shops making and selling traditional kokeshi wood dolls. One across the street and a short ways down from the hotel and a nice owner who is a sixth-generation doll maker and explained the ins and outs of the craft. One warning: if you go in winter, you can get a lot of snow. The morning we left, there was about 18 inches of snow on the ground, and train service was suspended. We had to wait two hours until a bus hired by JR East trains came to take passengers out. There's also a bus two times a day to Sendai, which is cheaper and may be more reliable in...

This is such a great way to experience the quieter and more traditional side of Japan. The Yusaya Ryokan was incredibly welcome to us and our two elementary school kids, none of whom can speak Japanese except for the basic "please" and "thank you." The room, a traditional tatami one, is set up first with a table and then the staff remake it with futons. Thankfully despite the traditional layout, there is plenty of AC in each room. The included dinner and breakfast were lavish (we felt bad wasting so much food but there was more than we could possibly eat) and while not particularly child friendly to the picky eater, included rice and other basics to get them by.||The Onsen nearby are available for your use - a men's/women's one in the Ryokan itself, plus a public one right next door and an open-air one across the street. We tried them all and each had its own charm.||Don't miss a chance to leave the big city tourism and enjoy the hospitality Yusaya Ryokan...

Wonderful traditional Japanese Ryokan inn - the oldest inn at this charming onsen town. Fantastic English speaking owner, friendly staff, comfortable rooms, clean & gorgeous high-quality foods in set meals- even cater very well for vegetarians & vegans. This town has 9 of the 11 types of natural hot-spring water available in Japan. The inn has a small bath (separate by gender) & free pass to sulphur-rich hot-spring next door. Private booking of 3rd hot-spring available by room. This place has been deemed a national cultural treasure, would highly recommend...