Yorozuya

“The customer service Japan is famed for.”

I booked a night in Yudanaka with my partner so that we could visit the Snow Monkey Park. Most places were already booked up, so we went for Yorozuya (sometimes romanised as Yoroduya) even though it was a little beyond our budget. At £300 a night for a double room with dinner and breakfast, I tho… lisää

I booked a night in Yudanaka with my partner so that we could visit the Snow Monkey Park. Most places were already booked up, so we went for Yorozuya (sometimes romanised as Yoroduya) even though it was a little beyond our budget. At £300 a night for a double room with dinner and breakfast, I thought “this had better be good…” Honestly, it was probably worth double that. The ryokan itself is massive; the atrium has a scale that almost defies sense. We were greeted by staff who were awaiting our arrival, and took our luggage up to our room while we enjoyed a complementary matcha tea. A guide led us up the stairs, handed us XL yukata to wear during our stay and explained the situation with towels. She took us in the lift to our room, and showed us how to access the onsens and where the dining halls would be. We took a few moments to settle into our tatami-floored room, change into our yukata, and investigate the albeit pretty boring view from our balcony. For the record: the joy here is _inside_ the ryokan rather than outside. We tested both the on-site onsen; they operate on schedules so that male guests and female guests bathe separately, but can both enjoy both of the baths. It is worth trying both. It’s a cliché to say, but particularly coming from Europe without much experience of this kind of venue, they made me feel like I was in Spirited Away, if Spirited Away was a series of Hokusai prints. I loved relaxing in the heat of the outdoor bath surrounded by rocks, trees and classically Japanese sculptures, with snow gently falling. Suitably relaxed, it was time for dinner. This was worth the whole booking price alone. We were served a 10-course kaiseki dinner, in a private booth, with attentive staff bringing us fresh water and sake whenever we desired. Every single bite was exquisite. While not 10 courses, this extended into breakfast which was a similar luxurious experience. I was sad we only had one night there, and would go back in a heartbeat. The experience of staying here creates a stronger draw for me to return to Yudanaka than the snow monkeys. We were treated so well, and truly unwound in a setting that felt almost too good to be real.

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“Relax Break”

This review is for the onsens at this location. There are two onsens at this location which switch between men and women at certain intervals during the day. While both are great, there is one that stands out and I was told was a UNESCO World Heritage site. It was a remarkable onsen by which all fu… lisää

This review is for the onsens at this location. There are two onsens at this location which switch between men and women at certain intervals during the day. While both are great, there is one that stands out and I was told was a UNESCO World Heritage site. It was a remarkable onsen by which all future onsens will fail to measure up. You are able to access these onsens even if you are not staying at the resort; I paid 800JPY in November of 2022 and it was the best value I could hope for.

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“Genuine ryokan experience”

Unbelievable levels of service. The staff are accommodating and friendly, we enjoyed interacting with all of them. Our room was massive and a lovely way to have an authentic Japanese experience. I only wish our futons were a touch thicker. The bathroom could really use an update. The dinner was ela… lisää

Unbelievable levels of service. The staff are accommodating and friendly, we enjoyed interacting with all of them. Our room was massive and a lovely way to have an authentic Japanese experience. I only wish our futons were a touch thicker. The bathroom could really use an update. The dinner was elaborate, which caught us a little off guard, but was satisfying. The private onsen was an incredible experience!

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“2 night stay”

We stayed here 2 nights to see the snow monkeys and visit Obuse. It was our first Japanese Ryokan so it was quite an experience. After struggling up from the station through the snow with our luggage we were told that we were too early to check in, so had to leave our bags and wander off for some l… lisää

We stayed here 2 nights to see the snow monkeys and visit Obuse. It was our first Japanese Ryokan so it was quite an experience. After struggling up from the station through the snow with our luggage we were told that we were too early to check in, so had to leave our bags and wander off for some lunch. When we returned we were greeted with green tea and then taken up to our room. There was a step inside the room where you need to take your shoes off, but unfortunately my friend didn't see this, tripped over it and fell headlong. The little lady showing us in seemed more concerned about the need to take shoes off than checking that my friend was actually OK. Inside it was a classic Japanese room with tatami mats, a low table with chairs without legs, a little balcony type area with chairs with legs and a bathroom where the toilet and bath/shower were separated off with their own doors. While we were at dinner the table and chairs were moved aside for futons to be set up on the floor. The ladies on reception were very helpful. They provided us with a map of the hotel showing the location of the restaurant and the baths and they booked us a taxi for the morning so that we could make an early start for the monkey park. When we arrived at the restaurant for dinner we were shown to our own little room with a table and chairs (with legs) with sliding doors where the staff would arrive with all the different courses for dinner. The were aware that I didn't eat meat, so tailored food arrived for me. They really made an effort to explain the courses to us and in some cases to explain how long we needed to leave things on a burner. It was all quite an experience and breakfast was similar, which we hadn't really been prepared for and meant we headed off to find some English tea and coffee afterwards. However, we felt it was a worthwhile experience.

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