Sennen No Yu Koman — Hotel in Toyooka

We were so glad we stayed at Sennen no Yu Koman. It was our first trip to Japan and our first time at a ryokan. We chose Koman thanks to a video consultation with an English-speaking (American) staff member of the Kinosaki tourist office, which cost a few dollars for 30 minutes, see visitkinosaki.com. We were a family of four adults and decided to stay in one room, even though the price was only slightly less than two rooms. We made the booking through the visitkinosaki.com website.||It was a very hot July day when we arrived but the air conditioning kept the room cool. The walls, decorations, ensuite bathroom  and toilet room needed a little updating but everything was clean. We stayed on the second floor of the main building facing the main street. There were other guests down the hall and on the floor above but we only heard noise at mealtimes when furniture was being moved upstairs. No street noise either.||They provided one yukata for walking around town and use in the room. The colors were subdued but the female yukata had a more lively design. There were a variety of sandals available for walking around town, wooden getas and different types of plastic sandals.||We didn't look at the hotel's baths, instead we visited four of the nearby onsen. They were enjoyable even on a hot day. Goshono-yu was our favorite. I think the location of Sennen no Yu Koman is just as good as anywhere closer to the station. It's only a few minutes walk to anywhere in the town, and there is plenty of activity in this area.||The front desk spoke and the friendly young man who served our meals in our room spoke enough English. The kaiseki dinner had plenty of variety and everyone was well fed, even those of us who are not so adventurous with Japanese food, ||We did one night in Kinosaki and I think that was adequate. If we did it again we would probably stay two nights, but I would try to book only one kaiseki dinner (probably this kind of booking is complicated). Kinosaki is 2.5 hours from Kyoto (or Osaka), but once you get to the Kinosakionsen station you are only a few minutes walk from everything. We came all the way from Tokyo and the limited express from Kyoto was much more scenic than the earlier shinkansen. It was a hot day and we were happy to be greeted at the station by the tourist office staff and escorted to a bus to various hotels. We only took small bags with us and on a cooler day a walk all the way to Koman would be a nice introduction. The next day the hotel arranged for a ride to the station. It was easy to leave our bags at the tourist office across the street, and then we took a local train for a few minutes and went swimming at the...

We were so glad we stayed at Sennen no Yu Koman. It was our first trip to Japan and our first time at a ryokan. We chose Koman thanks to a video consultation with an English-speaking (American) staff member of the Kinosaki tourist office, which cost a few dollars for 30 minutes, see visitkinosaki.com. We were a family of four adults and decided to stay in one room, even though the price was only slightly less than two rooms. We made the booking through the visitkinosaki.com website.||It was a very hot July day when we arrived but the air conditioning kept the room cool. The walls, decorations, ensuite bathroom  and toilet room needed a little updating but everything was clean. We stayed on the second floor of the main building facing the main street. There were other guests down the hall and on the floor above but we only heard noise at mealtimes when furniture was being moved upstairs. No street noise either.||They provided one yukata for walking around town and use in the room. The colors were subdued but the female yukata had a more lively design. There were a variety of sandals available for walking around town, wooden getas and different types of plastic sandals.||We didn't look at the hotel's baths, instead we visited four of the nearby onsen. They were enjoyable even on a hot day. Goshono-yu was our favorite. I think the location of Sennen no Yu Koman is just as good as anywhere closer to the station. It's only a few minutes walk to anywhere in the town, and there is plenty of activity in this area.||The front desk spoke and the friendly young man who served our meals in our room spoke enough English. The kaiseki dinner had plenty of variety and everyone was well fed, even those of us who are not so adventurous with Japanese food, ||We did one night in Kinosaki and I think that was adequate. If we did it again we would probably stay two nights, but I would try to book only one kaiseki dinner (probably this kind of booking is complicated). Kinosaki is 2.5 hours from Kyoto (or Osaka), but once you get to the Kinosakionsen station you are only a few minutes walk from everything. We came all the way from Tokyo and the limited express from Kyoto was much more scenic than the earlier shinkansen. It was a hot day and we were happy to be greeted at the station by the tourist office staff and escorted to a bus to various hotels. We only took small bags with us and on a cooler day a walk all the way to Koman would be a nice introduction. The next day the hotel arranged for a ride to the station. It was easy to leave our bags at the tourist office across the street, and then we took a local train for a few minutes and went swimming at the...

While some of the equipment got a bit old and worn down, for some People this will be a advatage. We had a big room (11 tatami) + entrance hall and a place to chill, sitting by the windows, sipping tea, listening the the passerby's getta clacking on the sidewalk. It would be awesome if we'd stay an extra day to check out other onsens with the onsen pass. There are 2 hot baths within the ryokan - each for men and ladies, and they seem to switch each day, so the guests staying even 1 night can experience both. The food was at the very least good, but it was mainly fish and seafood and I'm not a lover of either, but still I got some fishes which were amazingly good even for me. We came here mainly for the crabs. However the biggest advantages are the service and the spirits of the place. Never ever I felt so welcome at any hotel, ryokan or onsen. I wish English was more common among the staff, but the person who attended us was capable of conversation. As for the "spirits" - if we understood correctly, this onsen dates back to VIII century A.D. and the current family runs the business for over 500 years (current owner is the 27th generation). While the building was rebuilt many times, if You'll watch closely, You'll notice that it must've been a luxurious place with all of the expensive wood used for the building. Also, walking through the corridors You can enjoy many piece of art like in a small museum. I hope to come here again in another 10 years with my kids, so they can experience this hotel and the onsen culture. Wish You...