Best Karatsu Spa Hotels

Yoyokaku is a traditional and authentic ryokan that offers gorgeous, old-world architecture, comfortable rooms, fine kaiseki dining, a gorgeous garden and signature Japanese hospitality. In a way, it is sort of an extension of Karatsu by emitting a sense of history, tradition and culture that visitors to the area will definitely appreciate. While we do enjoy the traditional ryokan experience, we tend to shy away from them because of some of the compromises that typically accompany a stay in one of them, such as poor sound insulation (including creaky floors), the lack of heat insulation during the cold Winter months and slow internet speeds. If our stay at Yoyokaku is any indication, most of the shortcomings are nonexistent here, while all of the charming aspects of a traditional ryokan stay are in abundance here. First, the property itself. The architecture, decor, landscaping and furnishings are all otherworldly... each small step down one of the charming wooden corridors made us feel like we were slipping furthe back in time (at least to the Meiji era, if not earlier.) The subtle nuances are very difficult to explain in writing; thankfully, the Chairman (and the current owner's father), Akihito Okouchi was a wonderful host and walked us through the property, explaining many of the subtle aspects of the craftsmanship involved in the construction (and restoration) of the property, as well as some of the history behind Yoyokaku as well as Karatsu in general. He speaks pretty good English, by the way, which is partly why Yoyokaku is quite popular among foreign guests. The current Okami-san (the proprietress and the Chairman's daughter-in-law) was an English teacher prior to marrying into the family, so communication will definitely not be an issue should your Japanese skills not be up to snuff. The magnificent and immaculately maintained garden is dominated by old ”Matsu” (Japanese Pine Trees), which really gives this ryokan a sense of place. As an aside, nearby Yoyokaku is one of the country's three most famous pine groves (called Niji no Matsubara.) There is a small gallery of Karatsu-Yaki pottery by famous local artisans that is on permanent display, and also available for purchase. This is another thing Karatsu is know for, and will provide you with a nice history lesson just by staying at Yoyokaku. We chose a room called ”Tonbo” (十坊), room 211, which is a corner room on the ground floor with an awesome view of the garden. It's purely a Japanese room - no sofa, no sitting chairs, Western beds... the room is of the Tatami variety, and has a low table in the living room and you sit on the floor (albeit on Zabuton cushions.) After dinner, the staff will lay out the Futons; in our case, since the room had two sections, they laid out the Futons in the room adjacent to the living room, so there was no need to have the table dragged off to the side to make way for the Futons - I could continue working on my laptop (and all of the accompanying el

Accommodation fee is reasonable (6,200 yen as of 10/9). We highly recommend the breakfast coupon (800 yen including tax) that you purchase at check-in. The seasoning of each item is polite and delicious in a buffet style. If you eat seriously, the empty small plates will pile up like conveyor belt sushi. Personally, I think that ”sea bream chazuke” and ”squid dumpling” are essential choices. Unfortunately, the restaurant is not open at night, so you will need to secure your evening meal outside. Also, the large public bath is rather small, so if you like bathing, I think it would be better to use a nearby hot spring. Therefore, I think the best option is hot springs (around Nijo) → eating out → staying (breakfast required).

The bed in the double room is too small and the two are too crowded. I hope that Ctrip can mark the size of the bed when I give the double room (I see that the size of the double bed is marked on the booking). In addition, the distance between the hotel and the train station seems to be a little bit longer than what is marked on the Internet.

I found an inn that could stay alone and visited to eat squid on weekends. The end point of the airport subway JR Kanemaru, who arrived from Nishi Karatsu to Showa bus, was a naive inn facing the sea. The first 5F large bath was able to take a relaxing exclusive bath, so it healed the fatigue of the moving time. The expected dinner was excellent, including fish, of course, a good living squid. The soy sauce was not sweet but familiar, so the food and sake were also advanced and the full satisfaction was great. Because the type of squid changes depending on the season, I want to taste the color 々 in the future.