Yugawara FUGA — Hotel in Yugawara

My friend and I selected this ryokan because we wanted an open-air bath in our room. The price was very decent for what we received. We chose the 80sqm deluxe Japanese room. The room was beautiful and very spacious and could have easily hosted more people using futons. Everything was clean and well-kept with free amenities and drinks. The bath itself was perfect with a view out onto the town and the mountains. There is also a cypress bath to relax for longer periods.

I am vegan, and my friend is vegetarian, so I was hopeful that this ryokan might accommodate this since the website allows the teishoku menu to be altered in case of allergies. Unfortunately, the evening meal could not be altered to remove fish and shellfish. This was okay as I don't expect traditional ryokan to provide vegan or vegetarian meals. However, upon seeing that we did not eat a lot of the evening menu because of this, the staff did their best to provide us with a custom morning teishoku that suited our tastes. It was the most delicious and luxurious teishoku I have had in a long time. I am so thankful for this thoughtfulness, and it really made our day.

Yugawara is very quiet and peaceful. The ryokan is a 30-minute walk from the station, or you can schedule a shuttle bus through the ryokan itself. There are various traditional restaurants surrounding the ryokan in case you didn't order the teishoku.

There are not many English-speaking staff, so prepare some Japanese phrases if you don't speak Japanese. They were still very friendly and inclusive of my friend who could not speak it.

The whole complex is very beautiful and has some interesting rooms with manga and places to relax. I wish I could have stayed more than one night. Overall, I recommend this...

I booked for a night with breakfast and stayed in the standard Japanese style room. I assume the building was renovated recently as it felt very modern and clean inside. The mattress to put under futon made the stay extra comfortable👌

The hot spring (onsen) water wasn’t the best. As it didn’t have any distinct smell or the typical slimy feeling of onsen water, it felt like just a regular water but the bath itself was relaxing and nice.

Breakfast was good. They tried to incorporate a variety of ingredients and it tasted good. Not the typical big ryokan breakfast but i liked it that way. The only downside was that they sat me in the corner of the room, when the window seats with the garden view were empty.

Note that their free bus service from/to the station has fixed schedule. Better to book in advance. The ryokan is up on the hill! So you do want to take the bus if you have big luggage.

I stayed for a couple of hours in the library area after check-out for work. Loved how calming it is to look out the window with a cup of tea.

The area itself is very quite and not touristy. You wont find so many restaurants open for dinner but there are some options. Most of local restaurants in the area are closed on Wednesday so keep that in mind when planning a visit.

p.s. My room was facing another house in front - the gardener was up early and started the lawn mower from like 9am 🤪 too much noise from...

This inn is not highly recommended! Especially for foreigners, please make sure to check beforehand. Typically, inns include dinner or breakfast, but here it's optional!!! You have to book dinner in advance. Breakfast costs 2,200 yen. For Japanese people, paying 46,200 yen for two for just lodging feels very expensive. It would have been better to stay at a cheaper inn and go to a public hot spring. If anyone is considering this inn, it might be better to look elsewhere. Downgrading the service of a Japanese inn and charging this price is frankly expensive. Speaking as a former inn staff, the staff here aren't very good either. That did not answer the call twice and just said only one word sorry when I arrived. If I had to say something positive, the inn's interior might be stylish and worth seeing. Management is not so good I think.

The rooms are indeed like those of a traditional inn, but the service resembles that of a cheap guesthouse.

It seems they've downgraded the service of the inn and are only focusing on efficiency to make management easier.

The staff are either tired or just not very kind.

It seems there are other foreigners who feel the same way.

Even though it was my first time in Yugawara, I'm starting to dislike it.

Here are some negative points summarized:

Dinner and breakfast are not included (reservation required). No service to lay out futons (reservation required by 6 p.m.). Futon sheets are laid out just like in a cheap guesthouse. Difficult to get through on the phone. Only a brief "I'm sorry" for the above issues. No explanation of bath locations or operating hours (open until midnight, 6 a.m. onwards). Not much information provided about nearby shops. Yukata sizes are too small. Need to call staff to get shoes when going outside. Staff mix up shoes. At 5 in the morning. The footsteps of the pet from the upstairs neighbor are too loud, so I woke up. I tried calling the front desk about it, but couldn't get...