Hotel Iyaonsen

“Breathtaking Mountain Views”

The Iya Onsen is one of those unique travel destinations that leaves you with a truly memorable experience. From the fabulous drive up the isolated narrow mountain road, to the view from the top into the valley below, the relaxation of the open-air baths at the river’s edge (or on your private ter… lisää

The Iya Onsen is one of those unique travel destinations that leaves you with a truly memorable experience. From the fabulous drive up the isolated narrow mountain road, to the view from the top into the valley below, the relaxation of the open-air baths at the river’s edge (or on your private terrace), the locally sourced and themed kaiseki meals, and the helpfulness and professionalism of the staff, the property offers an experience that clearly stands out among typical ryokan offerings, even more upscale ones. The prime feature of the Iya Onsen property, is of course, the incredible location and view from the top down into valley, which truly makes you stop to appreciate the natural beauty around you. The dedicated cable car taking guests to the large open air baths at the river’s edge below adds another unique element, with the overall experience augmented by the general high quality of the ryokan itself; while the buildings and rooms are beginning to show a bit of their age, the overall facilities and services are still very much reflective of a luxury stay. This is a wonderful luxury ryokan at an incredible location, a rare combination that is not always easy to find.

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“Authentic Japanese experience in stunning nature”

We decided to splurge on this hotel during our visit to Shikoku as it is such an exceptional location and experience - we were very glad we did. The surrounding Iya Valley is absolutely incredibly stunning. This property is within walking distance of the famous Pissing Boy statue, about 5 minutes’… lisää

We decided to splurge on this hotel during our visit to Shikoku as it is such an exceptional location and experience - we were very glad we did. The surrounding Iya Valley is absolutely incredibly stunning. This property is within walking distance of the famous Pissing Boy statue, about 5 minutes’ walk. The roads to reach this hotel are certainly interesting but great fun to drive. The property is truly a Japanese hotel built for Japanese tourists and as such doesn’t have any Western comforts as such. Those staying should be aware although luxury, it isn’t luxury to the standard of western hotels as that’s not who it’s aimed at! The rooms are traditional with tatami floors and futon mattresses. Rooms have a toilet but no shower. To wash men and women have separate communal baths - you must be naked to go in - no getting out of it! The communal baths have small vanity units around the outside with shampoo and soap and shower heads. The stools are very small and not easy for tall foreigners. The onsen itself is an experience! It sits at the bottom of the valley and is only accessible by a very rickety funicular tram that goes almost vertically downwards and takes around 2 minutes one way. If you miss it you might be waiting a while for it to come back up! It is operated by the riders themselves. The onsen has a lovely view looking out over the river and surrounding valley. Again, you must be naked. It can take some getting used to but when you see the ease and comfort of the Japanese and their disregard for how bodies differ you will be at ease quickly. I found the Japanese we’re keen to find out what two naked westerners were doing in this remote onsen and wanted to talk. It was a really lovely experience. Recommend the kaiseki meal served here. Food is very good but again not tailored to western tastes (as it shouldn’t be!). I recommend embracing it as the western breakfast for example didn’t look great. I struggled as a vegetarian, I advised them in advance but they still served me chicken at dinner. When I said I don’t eat chicken they brought me beef! Eventually they understood although I had to eat some fish so as not to go hungry! There’s nowhere else to eat anywhere nearby and roads too hazardous to do at night. Once here there’s nothing much to do except kick back and absorb the whole experience.

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“The view of the valley is the best！”

谷底の川側にある温泉は素晴らしく日本のオリジナル温泉を感じる事が出来ました。是非、景色の良い部屋をリクエストしてください。食事は秘境ですので、あまり期待しない方が良いと思います。The hot springs on the river side of the valley bottom were wonderful and I could feel the original Japanese hot springs.　If you plan to stay, you should request a room with a view. Meals are O.K., but it's an … lisää

谷底の川側にある温泉は素晴らしく日本のオリジナル温泉を感じる事が出来ました。是非、景色の良い部屋をリクエストしてください。食事は秘境ですので、あまり期待しない方が良いと思います。The hot springs on the river side of the valley bottom were wonderful and I could feel the original Japanese hot springs.　If you plan to stay, you should request a room with a view. Meals are O.K., but it's an unexplored region, so you shouldn't expect too much cooking level.

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“Surprisingly good, especially given its remote (and beautiful) location”

We stayed for 2 nights at Hotel Iyaonsen, and were impressed by the level of service, the food offerings, the condition of the room and especially the Onsen (natural hot springs) quality down in the valley (more on that in a moment.) We were already expecting it to be remotely situated with incredi… lisää

We stayed for 2 nights at Hotel Iyaonsen, and were impressed by the level of service, the food offerings, the condition of the room and especially the Onsen (natural hot springs) quality down in the valley (more on that in a moment.) We were already expecting it to be remotely situated with incredible valley/mountain views, and on that (and all other) fronts, our hopes and expectations were more than met. As other reviewers have already noted, the drive to Hotel Iyaonsen - while not exactly a harrowing experience - is one that requires alertness... the road is barely wide enough for one vehicle, and if you spot a car approaching from the opposite direction, one of the drivers will have to back up to an area where there's sufficient width in the road for both cars to slide past one another. It's also very twisty - so much so, that it's really not practical to be barreling down the mountain pass in any case. Thankfully, there are mirrors placed at the corners of each sharp turn so that drivers are able to see oncoming traffic ahead of time. In my mind, this added to the charm of being somewhere so remote, even if it's a bit of a hassle to get there. We stayed in a room called "Tamayura" (Room #505, to be exact), which is the top room at the property. It's a corner room located on the top floor, and has an open-air outdoor Onsen bath to boot. Measuring 47m², it pales in comparison to highest category rooms at other ryokans we've stayed at, but the layout made it feel more spacious than its measurements would suggest. Tamayura had a living room, a smaller area where you can enjoy the Valley view, and a separate sleeping area.... none of them were segregated by walls, which added to the airy feel but might bother some guests accustomed to having distinctly separate living/sleeping areas. While it's Japanese in design and decor, it was more modern than traditional. The room had an earthly tone and allowed an abundance of natural light to enter, making it seem fresh and new. The Onsen and shower were located on the deck, and exposed to the elements. Now, I am used to having an open-air Onsen bath (in fact, in most cases I prefer it), but also having to shower outside (before getting into the Onsen) could be painful if it was in the dead of winter. The other drawback has to do with the in-room Onsen itself - it's not of the free-flowing variety; you have to fill it up from scratch each time you bathe. While it probably takes no more than 20 minutes for the bath to fill up, you might spend a bit more time regulating the temperature (by turning either the cold or hot water tap) until it's just right for you. Thankfully, this is made up by the awesome Onsen down in the valley. There is a cable car that shuttles (paying) guests to and from the bottom of the Valley, where there are separate men/women communal Onsen baths. There are also baths that you can rent privately (at extra cost.) All of them were amazing - the hot springs were soft, supple, slippery and full of natural minerals... we could just feel the hot springs-ness of the bath. All along, we were able to enjoy views of the river that flows right in front of the Onsen. Truly an experience that we will cherish. We loved our first dinner at Iyaonsen; the chef did a wonderful job focusing on local ingredients and recipes (or, if not practical, ingredients from elsewhere near Shikoku island.) We were blown away the salt-grilled "Amago," a trout-based fish that's specific to parts of Japan and a major delicacy. It was full of flavor, not fishy at all (which is not easy for a river fish), soft but plump, and edible from head to tail. We were also treated to local pork, Iya-style Soba noodles that uses 100% pure buckwheat flour (which is very uncommon elsewhere in Japan) and Pike Conger from the Naruto area. The second dinner was less impressive - I suspect that the vast majority of guests (mostly Japanese, I suspect) are merely passing by and stay no more than one night. Therefore, for outliers like us they generally may not have an abundance of Plan B options to serve. For instance, instead of rice at the end (well, just before dessert), they served us Udon noodles, which is fine. Except that it tasted like any frozen Udon that you can purchase in a Supermarket. When I asked them what type of Udon it was, the waiter disappeared into the kitchen to inquire with the staff, came back, and told us it was "Sanuki Udon." No... we know Sanuki Udon, and it was nothing like what we had just enjoyed in Kagawa Prefecture, both in terms of style as well as overall quality. On the positive side, for the traditional "Sashimi" course offering, they elected to offer us raw local Konjac as well as raw Yuba Tofu (which is made with a kind of soy milk that's usually used to make Yuba Tofu skin, if that makes any sense!) They were consumed with soy sauce and wasabi, just like Sashimi. Well, to say we were impressed would be a major understatement; they were both sublime! For us, it's just as memorable to have unique items that offer us sensations that we haven't experienced before. On that front, Iyaonsen definitely succeeded. For people that are looking to visit a beautiful place in Japan that's really off the beaten path, but still desire comfortable accommodations and good food, we highly recommend Iya Valley and Hotel Iyaonsen. To get around, however, we also strongly suggest that you rent a car and drive, as all of the tourist sites (aside from the Peeing Boy statue) are in no way within walking distance, and we never saw a single bus during our time in the area.

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