Arima Hot Spring Ryokan Kotori Reviews

A very different experience. In this hotel, we got to experience a more authentic Japanese accommodation and stay. With meals included, we had the whole package. They worked together with their sister hotel just up the hill to provide the elements of your stay. This whole place is not overly suitable for the mobility impaired. The town itself is on a hill, and the hotels have various levels and steps. There may be a lift to access higher floors, but there are other smaller steps around and at reception. Annoyingly, I didn’t take really any photos of the room… just the food! You can see my priorities 😊 The Room We hadn’t realised that our room didn’t come with a private bathroom. The advertisement did say, I just didn’t see it. Tant pis. The room was large, with a table and chairs towards the door and a double bed. There was a wash basin with fancy lotions and potions around the side for us to use. Japanese-style Kimono loungewear was provided along with traditional shoes. We wore these around the hotel and to go to the sister hotel, for dinner and the Onsen. The Food Breakfast was in our hotel, whilst dinner was in the sister hotel. We booked dinner in for 18:00, as per our itinerary and it took a lot longer than we anticipated. There were several courses, and we didn’t know what we were doing. Unfortunately, the staff didn’t have too much English, and they didn’t really understand that we didn’t understand what to do. Dinner We were brought in the first instance a platter of all sorts, and meat in a wee pan over a candle stove. The “Encounter Plate” included grilled octopus with asparagus, some kinds of chips as thin as crisps, a seafood soup (which was amazing), among others. Japanese Black Beef was served DIY in a grill pan along with bean sprouts and this was very nice, especially in the soy sauce. We managed just fine and followed the charades by the kind server to turn off the candle underneath. Next, was the seafood course. They brought out long vegetables with garnishes and raw seafood inside. The whole thing was laid on a bed of crushed ice. So cool… literally! Not my partner’s favourite, despite loving sushi. Slight confusion ensued because the whole dish was seemingly edible, including the vegetable it was served in. Although when I started to gnaw into said vegetable, a server hurried over to take it from me saying ‘No’… Oh well! A seasonal dish of deep-fried young sweetfish followed, paired with Maruju Toganoo stew sauce. Not really much too them, but nice nonetheless. It’s not over: then we had the noodles. An empty metal pan was brought and we were meant to cook everything ourselves. Understanding the timings and instructions wasn’t easy, and in the end the pan started to burn as we had taken all the food out but no one had told us how to turn it off or when. Thankfully, a girl ran over once she realised and turned it off. The last two elements were red miso soup, which I don’t recall enjoying too much, and then a brown suga