Shirakawa-go no Yu — Hotel in Shirakawa

Thank the stars I only stayed a night here. So far, this hotel has been the absolute worst experience I've had so far in my trips to Japan.

Generally, the cleanliness of the hotel has room for improvement, and that's saying something considering that my family has been telling me I'm not someone who has an eye for these things. Spider webs can be found in random corners, the tea pot in the room was not clean, and the onsen facilities are simplistic: no sanitary mats for the sauna, and of course no TV. Staff was not impolite, but not as helpful as I expect them to be in Japan.

Understandably, this is a 2 star accommodation so my expectations could possibly be too high. I paid US$130 for my half board stay, and I could get a much better experience with the same price somewhere else in Japan, and with a higher hotel star rating too. Nevertheless, after my experience in this hotel, I would highly suggest forgoing the meal plan and eat elsewhere, and treat the hotel like a common...

Note that this is not a traditional gassho-zukuri house, but a purpose-built hotel building.||||1. Location: Very near the bus terminal and good place to start the visit to Shirakawago. Oversees a picturesque river.||||2. Rooms: I stayed in a Western-style room. It was smallish, but that is typical of Japan. It was comfortable. No en-suite toilets though.||||3. Staff: Polite and functional. They had some difficulty communicating in English, but can manage.||||4. Amenities: The set dinner (kaiseki) is not cheap, but it was tasty. Breakfast was also good. They have a hot bath area which was great because I visited in winter. Do note that there is only 1 toilet for each gender and 2 wash basins for all the 10+ rooms on the 2nd floor. This is a tad inconvenient, and might be a point to consider before deciding to book...

I love this Shirakawago village and enjoyed the experience of staying one night at the Ryokan. I booked months ahead because I came during Japan cherry blossom season. We stayed in Japanese style room with shared bathroom. The hotel team prepared the futon for us while we had dinner. ||The room package came with breakfast and dinner. Dinner with Hida beef was excellent. It was one of the best dinner I had in Japan. Breakfast is also delicious with rice and grilled fish. ||The Ryokan also has onsen and it was a nice experience admiring the view inside the hot bath. ||The ryokan is within walking distance from the bus stop. We came using Nohi Bus from Kanazawa and going back using Nohi Bus to Takayama. Nohi Bus need to be reserved and you can reserve one...