Yufuin-Sanso Waremokou — Hotel in Yufu

This is a brilliant place. I stayed with my family for a night and only regret that we couldn't stay longer. We booked half board (i.e.: Breakfast and diner) and it was absolutely fantastic. ||||--- Food --- ||Every single dish was skilfully prepared and beautifully presented. You get a kaiseki menu combining the very best ingredients and allowing you to taste the vast diversity of Japanese cuisine. My fellow travellers praised the food as well and thought that it was worthy of a Michelin star. ||||--- Rooms ---||The rooms were huge. We had a large living room, an adjoining sleeping room (big enough to fit four futon beds). The amenities were rather good. Overall the rooms were very tidy and well looked after. ||||The private outside area was by far the most impressive feature of the rooms. You don't get one private onsen (=hot bath) but three (one indoors, one wooden tub and a stone tub outdoors). Perfect to relax with Mount Yufu in sight. ||||That said, there is one enormous onsen bath that can be used in groups (or individually) which overlooks all of Yufu-in and Mount Yufu.||||--- Staff/Hosts ---||||The hosts was outstanding as well. All of them were extremely dedicated to deliver perfect service. All of them understood and spoke English. I would like to thank each and everyone of them for providing such a great service.||||--- Conclusion ---||In short: ||- The hosts were great||- The rooms were excellent ||- The Onsen (both in-room and the larger one) were tremendous ||- The food...

From Hells of Beppu we drove 1.5H to our isolated, small minshuku in Yufu. There only about 5 rooms with some up the hill. We hear from friends that the best hot springs onsens would be in this Beppu-Yufa area. |This ryokan is rustic and not too fancy, but the service and food are undeniable. One lady staff person spoke near perfect English, while another spoke Mandarin. |There is also a remoteness. I walked in several directions from here. There's no shops, Lawsons, 7-11, or restos immediately. I did find a resto where I bought mochi (alas, no black bean filling, or anything). There are persimmon trees with orange fruit along the road, but I didn't take any.|The singular most reason I like this place is that, for the first time, I had 3 separate hot springs baths in my room -- two outside in the balcony and one near the tub. Talk about privacy and availability. Perfect, especially with the cooler temperatures!|The kaiseki dinner was outstanding with abalone, crab, and plenty of fish sashimi. Asian pears were served. They are in season now. Breakfast in the small dining room with one table was also brilliant. |We had two low beds which were difficult to enter in and out since hardly any walking space adjacent to the beds.|When we departed, the owner-manager took a photo of us at the doorway.|This is a very desirable ryokan if you like remoteness and a high level of service...

I stayed at the hotel for two nights with my friend. The hotel offers free shuttle service from the Yufu station, and we just have to reserve via email. We also tell the hotel through email that we do not eat any raw food, and it asked in detail about our preference in food for the meals. Staff is very thoughtful.|Staff are very friendly. They can speak English, and some can say putonghua. They accompany us all the way when we get off the car to the lobby and the room. We feel their sincerity. |The room is fabulous. It is spacious and with everything we need. It also includes a massage chair so we can relax.|There are 2 outdoor onsen and 1 indoor in the room. The indoor onsen is a bit small so we mostly use the one outdoor. The view is very gorgeous.|We have dinner and breakfast in the hotel. Dishes are different for the 2 days. The food are all nice and tasty. The owner of the hotel comes to serve the guests and chat with us during dinner time. The atmosphere is chill and nice.|For the second night we stay in the superior room. The room is bigger, and the in door onsen is also larger. The room is located higher so the view is even much better than the first night.|We are very impressed about its service, the room, the food. Staff are very friendly and nice. It is a very impressive experience. This hotel is highly...