Ryokan Gizan — Hotel in Takayama

Here, I unfortunately experienced the worst reception I’ve ever had in my life, and I’ve traveled to seven countries, staying in countless hotels and B&Bs. I even stayed in numerous cheap hostels when I was younger. None of them came close to how outrageously rude and hostile the receptionist was. (We later learned from a staff member that the rude person was, in fact, the manager.)

Here’s what happened—you can decide for yourself whether the hostility was warranted or not: We arrived at the hotel around 2:00 p.m., only to find the main gate closed. The automatic door was switched off, making it impossible to access the lobby. It was freezing outside due to an unexpected snowfall that day. I checked the confirmation email and their official English homepage but found no mention of the check-in time. After waiting about 20 minutes in the cold, we decided to enter through a side door that was meant for the staff. (There was a sign in Japanese that said "Staff Only," which I happened to be able to read.)

The lobby and reception were empty, and since we were literally shivering, we helped ourselves to some free hot coffee. (There was a sign.) About five minutes later, a man appeared from the hallway and locked eyes with my wife. He looked annoyed, and after an awkward five-second silence, he simply pointed at the reception counter and said, "Check-in time?" in English. He was apparently referring to a sign that read, "Check-in after 3." I was so stunned by his confrontational attitude that it took me a moment to process what was happening. I responded in Japanese, "まだ…ですか？" ("Is it not time yet?")

As soon as he heard me speak Japanese, he softened a bit. However, when he started checking us in and asked for my name and address, I told him I was a foreigner. Upon hearing that, he immediately whipped out a clipboard, jabbed his finger at my name impatiently, and stared at me like he was identifying a criminal.

Never in my life had I been humiliated by a hotel receptionist. Even some of the relatively cheaper accommodations we chose during our 2-week honeymoon in Japan had been professional, if not friendly. I was well aware that discrimination existed in Japan, but I was utterly shocked by how brazen he was.

Putting this horrific incident aside, the food was decent, and most of the other staff members were friendly. That said, they sent a dishwasher from Nepal, who could barely speak English, to serve us in their restaurant—probably because none of the Japanese staff wanted to deal with foreigners. Little did they know I could speak some Japanese and had no trouble ordering food. The Nepalese staff member was trying her best—I don’t blame her at all. I can only imagine the kind of discrimination migrant workers have to endure in this backward place.

To make matters worse, the rooms were not properly insulated, and there were several Japanese families with children. We could hear them running and screaming despite being put in a room at the farthest end of the hallway. Being a traditional Japanese hotel, needless to say its wooden floorboards amplified the noise.

Finally, the onsen (hot spring bath)--both indoor and outdoor ones--were poorly maintained. We could see black, slimey mold everywhere. There was even a bandage and part of a used shampoo packet on the floor: even though we were the first to use the baths.

I regret wasting my money and time there. That day should've been one of the best days of our honeymoon because we had a great tour in the morning. It was ruined because...

Pre Check-In|I booked my room quite way back, even before they renovated. Communications were quite prompt, which put me at ease. ||Check-In|Reading that reception would be unmanned until 3pm we turned up accordingly. Everything went smoothly. ||Amenities|LOVE THEM!! Cold & hot drinks, snacks, chargeable but cheap Soju/beer/Highball (¥200), amenities for facial, dental, hair, etc etc. ||Room|We were allocated a room on the 2nd floor (Goes up to 3rd floor). Good size and I love the rocking chair. View was good despite they informed not much of a view. We face nice trees and sounds of water since below us was the pond. Would have preferred a thicker mattress. The foyer had enough space for us to open both of our 24” luggage so there was no need to clutter the tatami area. ||Meals|We booked half board for both nights. |Dinner - Hida beef served for both evenings. 1st night was Yakiniku while 2nd night was a sublime Shabu2 (We’ve had enough grilled beef by now 🤪). Very good quality. A mini buffet to supplement our dinner, which I found the soba to be good. |Breakfast - Slivers of Hida Beef & Miso on Hoba leaf - Never my favourite as it’s very sweet. Plus usual Japanese breakfast fare like grilled fish, egg, pickles… There isn’t any coffee or juice in the restaurant - You need to bring in from the lobby. |100% Japanese so if you need Western staples - go elsewhere.||Parking|Not to worry - 5 parking spaces right in front of the entrance. Across the road a bigger parking area - Probably 20 cars..?||Onsen|Public onsen is basic and indoor but with a window to the outside. Here is also where you can take your shower. Despite my room being equipped with a bathroom I still ended up here to shower before and after my onsen dips. Of course with a short dip in this indoor pool everytime. There is also a massage chair inside the changing area (¥200/10min). |Gizan’s selling point is their 4 private outdoor onsens. Really nice and I went during the day as well as after dinner. I like how they are so near to the public bath, even on the same floor. You can’t shower at the private onsens. You either do so in your en-suite bath, or the public bath. This ryokan is perfect for people who are shy of common bathing. ||Location|We had a car but apparently the bus stop is 2 mins away. Okuhida offeres many attractions. Besides Kamikochi we also visited a few attractions very near Gizan - |TOCHIO ONSEN TIERED WATERFALL - Must visit daytime and nighttime!!|SHINOBU EROSION CONTROL DAM (しのぶ砂防堰堤)|LOOK-OUT POINT FOR MT. HAKODATE||(飛騨 星の鐘)|KITA ALPS BRIDGE|JIGOKUDAIRA SABO DAM||Conclusion |What I love the most about Gizan (besides the private outdoor onsens) is how compact it is. My room on the 2nd floor looks down at the reception. Laundry room just a few pace away. On 1st floor (ground floor) few steps away from the reception you find the public baths. The door to the outdoor private onsens are just right there. Restaurant is a few steps further. I’ve gotten a bit tired of the long meandering corridors of bigger ryokans, with requirements to change lifts at some. Gizan was a relief at the end of my week+ stay in Kyoto & the...

We stayed 2 nights in Ryokan Gizan late March 2014 and it was still chilly, about -5 to 5 degrees. We thought the heating in a ryokan would not be as good as a hotel but we were so wrong!! This place had the best heating, we were walking around in our underwear in our rooms. We had traditional futon which was comfortable and very warm... sometimes too warm!||||Our room was on the second floor with lovely views of the mountain. Tea and snacks were provided and a flask with hot water which was still very hot late at night. The rooms aren't soundproof so just a warning if you're on a honeymoon or romantic trip :) We could hear mumbling noise from the next room but it didn't bother us. ||||Make sure you include breakfast as there doesn't seem to be a lot of places where you can have breakfast. But having breakfast at Ryokan Gizan is very much worth it!! The staff are so friendly and the service high standard. A traditional Japanese breakfast is served and you will not be left hungry! On both days, we had different food and in different rooms. This was the best and most impressive breakfast we had throughout our 2 week stay in Japan. The level of effort they go to and their warm friendly service totally amazed us.||||I'm not sure if they serve dinner here but there is a place you could have dinner up the road…||||We tried the onsen at night and the separate onsen for women and men were outside. It was hot and beautiful but a little dark outside… ||||The manager always asked us what we were up to each day. On check out day, we mentioned we were going up to Shin-Hotaka Ropeway. The lovely lady who served us at breakfast overheard us and gave us a discount voucher for the ropeway. The booklet was in Japanese but she pointed to the voucher we needed to show. When we left, the manager and the lady walked us out to our hire car and stayed to wave us goodbye.||||This ryokan is highly recommended for the Okuhida area and if you're visiting Takayama, you should visit Okuhida too. The mountains and people are beautiful, it's the small things they do that just make your trip...