Kanaya Ryokan

At first, I thought 11 square meters might be small, but it was the perfect size for a solo trip and I felt very relaxed. Above all, the large cypress wood bath with free-flowing hot spring water is a hot spring I could visit over and over again without getting bored! There were reviews mentioning noise and other issues, but as someone who has known Kanaya Ryokan for a long time, I wondered why? Noise? It's not right on a national highway, and it's actually quite quiet! However, by bedtime and in the morning, I clearly understood the reason for those reviews. It was the noisy, running children. Parents who don't teach their children manners and don't understand how to stay in a quiet, old-fashioned inn. This isn't a resort hotel or a reinforced concrete building hotel, so consideration for others is necessary. Families with children who can't show that kind of consideration should go to hotels like Tokyu or similar. Although the inn is old, it is very clean, and I found the old-fashioned inn atmosphere very comfortable.

A truly atmospheric historic ryokan (founded in 1867, the bathhouse rebuilt in 1915) with its famous 1,000-person wooden mixed bath (seninburo) in the sukiya style, crafted from Japanese hinoki cypress. A huge indoor kon'eku bath is open 24 hours a day, with towels provided for women upon request. The bath has variable depths, approximately 50-120 cm in different areas, and is hot. A warm bath (36-38°C) is located behind a partition. There's also a kashikiri in a separate pavilion; you can get a vacancy/occupancy sign at reception. Rooms traditionally don't have their own shower; they're located in the onsen. The ryokan currently doesn't have its own kitchen, so we booked our room without breakfast and dinner. A 7-11 ten minutes' walk away and a microwave on the ground floor saved us. There are almost no places to grab a bite in the evening in the town. Despite some minor flaws, it's a truly wonderful place and the staff really try their best.

The large public bath wasn't as crowded as I expected, and I could go in and out freely. Since there was nothing around the inn, after checking in, all I could do was take a bath, watch TV, or sleep, so I went to the hot springs many times. The inn staff explained everything thoroughly during check-in, and they were all very friendly. The room was also clean.

I chose this hotel because of the atmosphere of the building and the bath. I was looking forward to the all-cypress Senninburo bath, so I stayed overnight without meals so I could enjoy the baths to my heart's content. The Senninburo bath is also a men's bath, so it was quite a challenge for women. If possible, I would be happy if they set aside time slots for women only. The private baths also had three baths with different temperatures, so it was a very satisfying hot spring. The women's only bath was also a large cypress bath just as the Senninburo bath, so I enjoyed it thoroughly. You can rent as many bath towels as you like, so it was great that you could go in and take a bath as many times as you wanted. My room was at the end of a maze-like corridor, so I enjoyed going back and forth between rooms very much. It was a really nice inn.

Except that it's a bit expensive, everything is perfect, retro Japanese style, the front desk reception is warm and patient, the mixed bathing hot spring is not a gimmick, there are really girls, and they don't even wear bath towels, I won't go into details...haha

The staff were incredibly welcoming and always on time. Kanaya Ryokan is typically Japanese, with a magnificent onsen and splendid antique woodwork.