2-Star Hotels in Gifu Prefecture, Japan

May 15-16, 2024 From the moment we saw photos of this special place on the internet, we knew we had to stay here! The natural rock onsen baths caught our imagination - and our stay was wonderful beyond expectations! The resort is located in a forested valley is stunning, next to a rushing river. Natural mountain hot spring water is channeled into 7 lovely outdoor onsen baths, as well as ensuite baths. The facility is beautifully designed with gardens and multi-level suites, with each of the levels looking out to the river, with plenty of seating to enjoy the relaxing and lovely views. We were treated with limitless thoughtful hospitality from the moment we arrived, to the moment we left - in fact, one of our group kept commenting ”the y[the staff] must think we're really special!”. The suite was beautifully appointed with tatami mats, traditional Japanese decor, comfortable beds, yukata and slippers are provided along with tabi socks and plenty of clean linens. Our suite had its own private onsen bath encircled by natural stones, and constantly running hot spring water. Such a contrast to water-parched California and even Hawaii where we're from! The outdoor onsens are open all night, for viewing of the starry night sky. The kaiseki dinner was exceptional, with many many delicious small plates, each exquisitely prepared and presented - a petite, freshly caught local fish was skewered as if swimming and roasted in a salt shell. Utterly delicious! In the morning, after a similarly wonderful breakfast, we experienced a mochi-pounding session with the hotel staff and guests joining in - lots of fun - photos were provided! Transportation - It was a challenge figuring out how to get to this place - finally, we had a Japanese-speaking hotel clerk call the resort, and got instructions for the 1-hour bus ride from Takayama bus station to Shinhotaka Onsen / Nakao Kou-gen-guchi. There are buses running every hour! We walked to the resort from the bus stop when we arrived, and a shuttle van to the bus stop was thoughtfully provided by the resort when we left. PS) I was unable to upload photos. Please provide an email, because you won't want to miss seeing this beautiful place!

The hotel is in an excellent location with great amenities nearby. It's just a bridge away from Miyagawa Morning Market and very close to the old town of Takayama. During my two-day stay, all the other guests I encountered were European, and I was the only Asian person in the entire backpacker room, which was a very unique experience.

This appears to be a family-run business with warm hearted hospitality. The hosts didn’t speak much English but we managed to use a digital translator to communicate. Am grateful the hotel provides free shuttle pick up from Hida Osaka Train station. We had to get our previous hotel to ring Senyukan to inform them about the expected timing of our train arrival. We appreciate the immense patience of the hotel shuttle driver. She put up with 2 changes of timing of our train arrival because of significant delays from the Highway bus from Nagoya to Takayama where we had to connect to Hida Osaka Train station. We had booked to stay 3 nights and loved every moment of the stay. The kaiseki Hida Beef dinner had the perfect balance of sweet/sour/ salty taste. Each dinner also had a cooked fish either grilled, steamed or poached, in addition to sashimi ( raw seafood). The soup was exquisitely flavourful as was the freshly prepared salad and tempura ( deep fried vegetable fritters). All the food items were plated with pleasing artistry. We had booked the hotel for its hotsprings which lived up to their therapeutic reputation. Although the sex-segregated pools were for hotel guests, we found ourselves often the only ones who used them at the time. Highly recommend this hotel for its affordability and wonderful value-added hospitality. The only downside of the hotel is that the wifi signal is not always stable in the guest rooms. But wifi is more accessible from the hotel lobby.

This place was absolute amazing! By far our favorite place from our whole trip. The location was absolutely perfect for the Takyama festival. We were literally right there with shops and street vendors 50 yards away and the parades would have been right there as well if they weren't canceled due to rain. The rooms were humble and traditional and really added to the experience. The tea in the room was exceptionally good and the traditional Japanese breakfast they served was also delicious and fun to eat. We didn't even know they had a legitimate hot spring on site, but they did! They are Japanese style baths so be ready for that, but the water was therapeutic and so relaxing. I cant recommend this place enough and I would absolute make it a point to visit Takyama and stay here again for a few days on our next trip to Japan. They were such great kind hosts. And I cant believe the price, what an great value. Do yourself a favor and stay here. I'm not sure why the other bad reviews are here I read some of them and they sound like entitled stupid American tourists so ignore them and stay here.

ที่พักดีมาก ประทับใจทุกอย่าง บ้านน่ารัก ที่จอดรถใกล้ที่พัก ถ้ามีโอกาสจะไปพักอีกครั้ง

Wonderful guest house, full of interesting artefacts and traditional Japanese trinkets. Traditional stay with modern amenities. Our family of 4 loved our stay here during April 2024. The owners are very welcoming into their home and they go to a lot of effort to make our stay happy and comfortable. A traditional Japanese Breakfast meal is provided. The food is delicious and plentiful. Sleeping is Japanese style on tatami mats and comfortable futon mattresses. The rooms and beds are warm and cosy, even when it is cold outside. The bathrooms are clean and modern, and the hot bath was a very welcome relief from the days of walking. The location is very convenient with a 1 minute walk to the Miyagawa morning markets and other interesting locations. The house is an easy 15 minute walk to Takayama station. Highly recommend. We loved our stay here!

The location is great, with easy walking around and only ten minutes from the station. I was worried about the cleanliness, but the room was very clean. The bedding was a little worn, but it felt clean and smelled great. The shared bathrooms were also very functional. I highly recommend staying here when visiting Takayama. The price is also quite reasonable.

We were on a roadtrip, returning from Shirakawa-go and needed a place to overnight before the drive back to Nagoya the next morning. Hotels around Gifu area were more expensive so we decided on Seki, and it met all our requirements. 2-star hotel hence we were quite pleased with the onsen availability - but note that it is 1 onsen only so it will be for males during certain hours, and for females only during other times, be sure to check the schedule and the sign in front of the hot spring room before entering. Breakfast was so good, we did not expect so many options, it was a small dining area but we did not have to wait for a seat though we were there around 8am which is usually the peak breakfast time for Japan hotels. Oh, parking is also FOC in front of the hotel. Would recommend this place to anyone looking for a quick pitstop.

It's walkable from Hirayu Onsen Bus Terminal. I don't think it's far. Along the way, there are also a couple of public foot baths you can stop by. On Trip.com, only rooms with shared bathrooms seem to be available, but they also have rooms with private bathrooms. I think you'll need to book through their official website if you want that option. The meal included with our room is fairly basic such as tonkatsu or beef curry. However, if you book a room with a private bathroom, you can choose meals like grilled beef or beef sukiyaki instead. The onsen water contains a lot of mineral sediment (I guess that maybe a good thing?) The bathroom facilities, though, are quite old.

The food was absolutely exquisite! The staff were all so polite and had wonderful smiles. On our way out, it was drizzling, and the owner kindly lent us two umbrellas. The hotel is also conveniently close to the bus terminal, making getting there and back a breeze. I'd definitely stay here again if I get the chance. We had a lovely time with my grandchild. Thank you!