Onyado Chikurintei — Hotel in Takeo

The 11-room Onyado Chikurintei is the only bona-fide luxury ryokan in Takeo Onsen with a reputation of offering seclusion, privacy and high standards of service. This is one of the ryokans where we would've been more than happy staying in one of the mid-category rooms (dubbed the Japanese-Western rooms) - they are plenty spacious, all room have Onsen, and every group of guests are treated to meals served in their own room.||That said, we really wanted to try for "VIP Room Shuho", a 250m² stand-alone Villa that has its own dedicated entrance, an open-air Onsen bath, a private rock garden, and commanding views of Mt. Mifuneyama. Shuho also hosted Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko in 1992, as well as the Crown Prince Naruhito and Princess Masako in 1996. Shuho was last renovated in 2017, so it's not at all in shabby condition, either. There is, however, quite a bit of wasted space; Shuho had a few tatami rooms that served no purpose, save for the times when futons are laid out in those rooms to serve 4 or more guests at the same time. We were able to check out two of the more popular rooms - Gochiku and Shakunage, which offer great bang for the buck and, in Shakunage's case, the possibility of being surrounded by Sakura in bloom if you're there at the right time.||Service was sophisticated and elegant; our room attendant (Ms. Suzuki) was decked out in a gorgeous silk kimono and was an amazing advisor in helping to craft an efficient self-tour itinerary during our time in the area. She also was extremely knowledgeable of the cuisine that was being served - we got a great education on the unique cooking methods employed by the ryokan's kitchen staff. Here again, our room was refreshed each time we ventured outside, even for a 30 minute walk around the adjacent park. Aman's room ninjas have nothing on Emi Suzuki, that's for sure. The ryokan also shows great flexibility in fulfilling guests' wishes, too. If you'd prefer to have a chair and table rather than sitting on the floor, that's no problem - just notify them at least a day in advance and they can comply. Is the Onsen too hot? An engineer will immediately show up and make the necessary adjustments.||I wouldn't call the food a letdown, we didn't feel it lived up to its stellar reputation as a culinary tour-de-force. While they certainly used the highest quality ingredients from the region, the quantity of dishes was less than what we typically experience at other luxury ryokans; we would've preferred more assortment of smaller dishes if we had nit to pick. We love Nodoguro (Blackthroat Seaperch), but having the fish wrapped with various vegetables inside was unnecessary and sort of strange. Ditto for the deep-fried Japanese potato stuffed with Sea Urchin and Lily Bulb. It was - as expected - quite dry, and we barely could taste the Uni that was overpowered by the potato. Some of the courses were terrific, however, especially the Fried buckwheat flour dumplings with walnuts inside. Simple, not too sweet, and had a mochi-like texture mixed with a nutty crunch. Excellent.||Given how often we travel to Kyushu, I can imagine us making a repeat visit to Onyado Chikurintei. If there is a next time, we certainly would like to return when flowers are in bloom and there is actual foliage on the trees, and we will combine the stay with a visit to Hirado and Sasebo, two historic locations in remote Nagasaki that we've...

A very unique stay! Because of the Shinkansen being down, I had to last minute change my plans, but still was able to stay in “Hagaromo” for one night.

Service was great from the very beginning. Coming from Funuoka, we took a short 5 minute taxi from the train station (that the ryokan covers!). When we got inside, we were shown our room, they lay down a tarp for your luggage, given welcome drinks, and given a tour of the public baths and sitting areas within the building. In their main sitting area they have cold coffee, tea and mini Sapporo!

I used their public bath once. It was great with one bath indoors and one outdoors. Had it all to myself. Fluffy towels and rugs.

The food service was great - I couldn’t even eat it all. With the leftover rice for dinner our host made us late night onigiri… which we had after we walked the garden to see the teamlab exhibit.

I’d rate that night garden experience a 9/10 because it was just so unique. I’ve never visited a teamlab before but to have it outdoors, walk around in your yukata. We also visited the outdoor bar… it was the best non-alcoholic drinks we ever had (we tried three!). Only call out is that it was wildly hot when we went in September.

Also TAKE A MAP! We sort of got lost.

We even checked out the connecting hotel the next morning before check-out, but didn’t have time to use its baths. The private bath inside our room was more than enough!

Highly recommend if you’re looking for a private, luxe yet still homey experience. 1 night was just enough for a...

Stayed one night in Takasago. The room was beautiful and full of traditional Japanese designs down to the very little details.

The hotel only had a few rooms so it was very private and intimate. There is a private entrance to Mifuneyama for guests so you dont have to walk all the way around.

Chayabar is also within min of walking through the gardens.

We particularly loved the baths. The outdoor bath had a giant black rock slab where you can lie there and really just enjoy the nature without it being way too hot. Was able to read on the rock for over an hour while listening to the brids.

The service as always was impeccable. They were patient and full of smiles when explaining to us. For dinner they even typed up the menu in english for us so we know what we were eating.

You can also go and enjoy TEAMLABS exhibits and suana in Ruken hotel next door. But since we stay there ahead of time for a few days, we really just wanted to enjoy Onyado.

Recommend the splurge for...