Tajimaya — Local services in Toyooka

This was an amazing experience! We are a young couple in our early 30’s and my husband has a lot of tattoos. The village is known for being tattoo friendly and they are! Check in isn’t until 3 pm but they allowed us to leave our bags there. I suggest you do as we did, and we headed to the ropeway. Once you get to the top, make sure you order the Tajima hot dog. Kinosaki is known for their Tajima beef! It’s the best kind of beef I’ve ever had. Furthermore, the staff was so friendly when we checked in. Mia was our room attendant and she spoke really good English. She was the best! You will get to pick your Yucata and stroll the streets with one on. Please make sure you know the etiquette when going into the public onsens. Yes, there are 7 of them throughout the whole village. You can also collect a stamp at each one! There are posters at each onsen to indicate what to do. You must bathe first. Yes, they all have shampoo and body soap. Make sure you also visit the souvenir shops and explore! Best times to visit, even for one day and night is on the weekends. Most stores and bars are closed during the weekday. We only stayed one night, and that wasn’t enough. I would do at least 2 nights! Last but not least, they have 3 private onsens you can go to inside their Ryokan! The food was delicious and our room was beautiful! Dinner and breakfast come with your stay, and I highly suggest you get it. It’s worth every penny! We are definitely going to be back and we will stay at this Ryokan. Thank you to Mia and the staff, and the owner who showed up to greet us in our room! They are truly there to make their guest happy! For more info and tips, follow my instagram page @realtorteresitanino. I have posted several videos of Kinosaki and Japan in general....

Stayed here for 2 nights and had a wonderful experience! Maya took incredible care of us and spoke English very well. The owner introduced herself on the first day and also spoke English well, while the other members of the staff did not speak much English, it was never a real barrier for us. This was a fun experience, the food was incredible, but note that the "Beef" course meal does include tons of fish. I never liked fish before eating some of the fish included in these meals, but I also tried and skipped on a lot of the fish, especially at breakfast.

This is really a perfect location, only a 10-15 min walk from the train station, but also a 1 min walk from the best onsen in my opinion (Goshono-Yu). You also get the pass to visit all of the public onsens in town, but we quickly found ourselves back at the closest. Their private onsens are also really nice, tried a couple of those in the mornings and it was a great way to start the day. Would highly recommend staying here if you're heading to Kinosaki, I think 1 night is enough to enjoy the onsens and ryokan experience, there isn't much else to do in town and 2 days is pushing it.

10/10 for Maya, we really enjoyed her presence and she accommodated us on some requests with the food as well, she replaced some of the shrimp with crab on our second night and we enjoyed...

Japanese and Chinese translations below

Everything. Absolutely everything about this ryokan was spectacular.

The service was impeccable. Riz is such a great hostess and treated us the best way possible.

She tried her best to accommodate our requests and make sure we were comfortable.

The rest of the staff were amazing as well.

From the back room staff to the reception staff, to the owner. All were extremely welcoming, friendly and tried their best to make sure we were attended to and they attempted to communicate with whatever English they could and as best as I could with my broken, elementary Japanese.

The owner even paid a visit to us to greet us and thank us for staying at her ryokan. She’s a lovely and welcoming lady.

It is definitely is a great plus that they have fluent/native English speaking staff. Especially since many of these great experiences are typically fully run by non-English speakers (understandably so), so it really stands out for her to offer well trained staff that can provide the same level of service that japanese staff provide.

This was a 100% authentic japanese ryokan experience and the food is exactly what one is to expect at these experiences. Everything was delicious. One of our favorites was the shabu shabu! As a notice to foreign visitors that aren’t aware of kaiseki meals, please research beforehand as some foods may look different from what one is used to eating in the west, but keep an open mind as it is delicious!!!

Everything was super fresh, local and of the season.

The highlight from this ryokan is likely the private onsens. In fact, it’s the reason why I booked it. I wish they were available for a few hours more after breakfast, but it’s understandable that they close them for cleaning and maintenance for a few hours from 9am to 3pm. Other than that, they’re closed from 12am to 6am.

Regardless, I got to enjoy them with no problem.

Overall, I loved staying in Kinosaki-Onsen, the city is beautiful and the people are super kind. I can’t wait to go back and enjoy this ryokan again with friends and family.

11/10 - everything!

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🇯🇵 Japanese:

すべて。本当にすべてが素晴らしい旅館でした。

サービスは完璧で、リズさんは素晴らしい女将さんでした。私たちを最高の方法でおもてなししてくれました。

彼女は私たちのリクエストに応えようと最善を尽くし、快適に過ごせるように努めてくれました。

他のスタッフの方々も素晴らしかったです。

裏方のスタッフから受付の方々、そしてオーナーの方まで、皆さんとても親切で温かく、英語で一生懸命コミュニケーションを取ろうとしてくれました。私のつたない初級レベルの日本語にも対応してくれました。

オーナーの方も私たちに挨拶に来てくださり、宿泊のお礼を直接伝えてくれました。とても素敵で優しい方でした。

英語が流暢またはネイティブレベルで話せるスタッフがいるのも大きなプラスです。多くの素晴らしい旅館体験は英語があまり通じないことが多い中、彼女の旅館では日本のスタッフと同じレベルのサービスを英語でも提供してくれる点が本当に特別です。

ここでの体験は100％本物の日本旅館体験でした。食事も期待通りの会席料理で、すべてがとても美味しかったです。特にしゃぶしゃぶが私たちのお気に入りでした！

西洋の食事に慣れている外国人の方には、会席料理は見慣れないものもあるかもしれませんが、事前に調べて、ぜひオープンマインドで楽しんでください。とても美味しいです！

料理はすべて新鮮で、地元・旬の食材が使われていました。

この旅館の一番の魅力は、やはり貸切風呂だと思います。実際、それが予約の決め手でした。

朝食後ももう少し長く利用できたら嬉しいですが、9時から15時までは清掃とメンテナンスのために閉鎖されているのも理解できます。それ以外では、夜12時から朝6時までは利用できません。

それでも、問題なく十分に楽しめました。

全体として、城崎温泉に滞在できて本当に良かったです。街は美しく、人々はとても親切でした。また友人や家族と一緒にこの旅館に戻って来たいです。

11点中、11点！すべて最高！

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🇨🇳 Simplified Chinese:

一切。关于这家旅馆的一切都非常出色。

服务无可挑剔。Riz...