Ikariya Ryokan — Hotel in Yamanouchi

Glad I got to enjoy this very traditional ryokan experience. When we got off the train at the station, there was an English speaking information center guy that was able to call our ryokan to see how we best get there. We were put on a city bus and sent our way. Luckily for us, the inn-keeper was waiting for us at the bus stop, because we didn't even know which one was our stop. We followed him to the ryokan and settled in. The (I'm assuming) husband and wife were both I say in their 60s and were very, very kind. They spoke zero English and we only knew a few numbers, yes, no, please in Japanese. With the language barrier, we were still able to communicate. ||||The wife immediately made us tea and we were shown around the ryokan. The toilet is communal on the 2nd floor. The shower is the onsen shower in the basement. The rooms were nice and heated with a space heater, but the communal areas and hallways were a bit cold. We also had turn down service where they laid out our futons for us in the evening.||||We were given a key and map so we can go onsen hopping in the many public onsens available. We communicated a dinner and breakfast time with the hosts as well. Dinner and breakfast were fantastic with nearly a dozen small dishes at dinner and 9 items for breakfast. Overall, a fantastic ryokan experience. Don't expect a 3, 4, 5 star hotel. That's not what this is. But this was still very...

Lovely traditional family run ryokan. Hosts are a sweet elderly couple who, despite limited English language skills, went out of their way to make you feel at home and to make conversation. I do speak some Japanese so we managed to communicate well enough. As is traditional in Japan, the ryokan was very cold (it was winter) and the ofuro (bath) was extremely hot. Had to admit defeat both with dinner and breakfast. Lovely Japanese meals but too much to eat it all. Lovely personal touch to be walked to the bus stop to go to the snow monkeys and, because Mrs Katagiri was worried about my cough, she gave me (and made me wear) Japanese heatpacks inside my clothes. All in all I would definitely recommend a stay at this ryokan, despite it being a tad on the expensive side for what you get. Please don't forget to go to an ATM before you come to Shiga Onsen as the nearest ATM is...

This traditional Ryokan is the best value for your money in Shibu Onsen. It's situated right in the middle of Shibu Onsen, and it is in front of the famous Ryokan that supposedly inspired Studio Ghibli, which costs an arm and a leg. It's an hour walk from the Snow Monkey park.

The best thing is that they are one of the few Ryokans/hotels that has the universal key that unlocks the public onsens in the area. It comes already at no additional cost. They do not have private onsens, but they have very clean Onsen for the guests. Honestly, I thought it was even better than the public baths. The staff were so nice and very helpful. The rooms were adequate. They are not modern, but it had their own charm. We took the tataki rooms and it was wonderful. I'd definitely...