Sinonomesou — Hotel in Toyooka

TLDR; Pros: free pass to access 7 public onsens, staff were friendly but due to language barrier people could perceive main lady as rude but we don’t think she intended to be unfriendly.

Cons: Rooms are heavily outdated and has a strong stench that latched onto our clothes for days until we used a fabric softener. Sad to say I would not recommend this Ryokan. No one is monitoring customer service via email as my past two messages weren’t acknowledged either.

For some reason I am unable to write a review in booking.com for this one particular ryokan, so I’ll post it here. Location wise, it isn’t on the main road so it’s very quiet and is situated a bit further from the station (approx 6 min walk, but with heavy luggages and a narrow walk path/crowding, it may add more minutes to your walk). You won’t get a nice view either unless you stay on the main road! However, it is a walking distance to most of the public onsens around Kinosaki. This ryokan provided a free pass which allows you to enter the 7 public onsens, it’s unlimited entry during your stay there (correct me if I’m wrong)

According to the reviews on the booking website and here, travellers have stated the main lady and staff weren’t accommodating and friendly. The main lady was friendly and assisted us as much as possible with little to no English, so please be patient with them. The staff are non-Japanese but speak English well, however they did lack a bit of customer service. There’s also an older man there who is super friendly and greeted us daily. They provided towels and straw baskets (baskets found in lobby area for customer to borrow), where you can take around the town. Inside the ryokan you will find yukatas and wabaki’s at the front desk to put on too if you wish. There’s instructions to put on the Yukata on a bench with the other displayed yukatas.

Unfortunately the negative comments outweigh against the positive - Our room and the unbearable smell…sadly it is not as clean and pristine as pictured in their advertised photos. The ryokan had a very strong smell which seemed like the room hasn’t been aired out for months - We had to purchase air freshener to help sort of diminish the smell. We saw a review on booking.com where that traveller stated their futons were laid out for them - unfortunately that wasn’t the case for us and we had to do it ourselves, by moving the chairs and table ourselves to make room. Pillows and blankets had visible stains too, so we used a shirt to put over the pillows in order to sleep. Futon wasn’t the most comfortable either. So I am guessing either it wasn’t washed properly or not washed at all.

The smell of the ryokan was so strong that my partner and I had to do laundry and use fabric softener at our next accommodation to rid of the smell as it seemed to have latched onto it. You cannot adjust the ceiling light either which was disappointing, so we left the hallway and bathroom light on as our source of light. The bathroom (obviously not pictured online because it looked like a dungeon) was so dirty that we didn’t dare to shower there! We showered at every onsen we visited as it was much cleaner. The ryokan needs a major makeover and the bed sheets/pillows need to be replaced.

Truthfully, we wished we had spent a little more money to stay at one of the ryokans situated on the main road. We stayed for two nights and we couldn’t cope. Overall, great with the free onsen passes, but save the disappointment and book elsewhere especially if...

This is our first time at a traditional ryokan and we simply fell in love the moment we arrived. Although the owner and staff spoke very limited English, they made us feel special and tried their best to make our stay as enjoyable, comfortable and memorable as possible. They offer free pick up once we informed them of our arrival time at the station. Once we were in the ryokan lobby, we were immediately greeted by the owner who gave us a quick tour of their lounge and o-furo rooms, then escorted us to our room, while their staff delivered our luggages. Then, we were offered a cup of hot green tea and some sweets which were very refreshing.||||We booked through JapanHotel.net and the agent was prompt in answering all my emails. On their website, their rates are listed as per room per night with breakfast and dinner included, but we requested for 1 dinner only. They accommodated our request and deducted fees from the total room charges. So if you want to book this ryokan, JapanHotel.net is very reliable.||||Overall, friendly ryokan staff, clean and spacious tatami room, beautiful zen-like decor, and convenient location around the 7 public bathhouses. Everywhere can be reached by foot. My personal favorites are their lavish banquet-style red snow crab dinner, free bathhouse pass, free beautiful yukata wear, free massage chairs, big HD TV, powerful air conditioner, and big beautiful hot bath rooms. Everything about this place is superb! We were so pampered, we regret not staying longer. Even greater, the owner drove us to the station on the day we left because she felt bad that we had to drag our heavy luggages all the way to the station. Very considerate. We will definitely re-visit this place again...

This is our first time at a traditional ryokan and we simply fell in love the moment we arrived. Although the owner and staff spoke very limited English, they made us feel special and tried their best to make our stay as enjoyable, comfortable and memorable as possible. They offer free pick up once we informed them of our arrival time at the station. Once we were in the ryokan lobby, we were immediately greeted by the owner who gave us a quick tour of their lounge and o-furo rooms, then escorted us to our room, while their staff delivered our luggages. Then, we were offered a cup of hot green tea and some sweets which were very refreshing.||||We booked through JapanHotel.net and the agent was prompt in answering all my emails. On their website, their rates are listed as per room per night with breakfast and dinner included, but we requested for 1 dinner only. They accommodated our request and deducted fees from the total room charges. So if you want to book this ryokan, JapanHotel.net is very reliable.||||Overall, friendly ryokan staff, clean and spacious tatami room, beautiful zen-like decor, and convenient location around the 7 public bathhouses. Everywhere can be reached by foot. My personal favorites are their lavish banquet-style red snow crab dinner, free bathhouse pass, free beautiful yukata wear, free massage chairs, big HD TV, powerful air conditioner, and big beautiful hot bath rooms. Everything about this place is superb! We were so pampered, we regret not staying longer. Even greater, the owner drove us to the station on the day we left because she felt bad that we had to drag our heavy luggages all the way to the station. Very considerate. We will definitely re-visit this place again...