Asaya

Upon arriving, you can tell the hotel had its glorious days, and it's clearly put in a lot of effort to survive and remain standing in Kinugawa! The room was spacious and clean, and the staff even helped set up the futons while we were at dinner. The room rate included two buffet meals, both of which offered a good variety and quality of food. However, 90 minutes for dinner felt very rushed. I initially chose this hotel because the photos of the open-air onsen looked very appealing. But I was quite disappointed with the onsen facilities here. The hotel has three hot springs: the main bath on the 1st floor of the main building, the open-air onsen on the 13th floor, and the bathhouse in the annex. It turned out the open-air onsen was tiny, and the changing area was also very small. The strangest thing was that there were only four shower stalls, and they only had body wash – no shampoo or conditioner (which is really odd). Yet, the main bath on the 1st floor had over 20 different types of shampoo to choose from (bizarre!). I ended up having to wash my hair back in the room, but in the summer heat of June, it took an incredibly long time for the hot water to come on. I visit many onsen hotels in Japan every year. While this hotel's rooms and dining were decent, its onsen was the most disappointing I've encountered. And the room rate wasn't cheap either, so I won't be considering staying here again!

This hotel is a century old but incredibly well-maintained! The hot springs are super relaxing and really destress you. The breakfast and dinner buffets offer a wide variety of choices, though you have to pay extra for drinks. The Japanese-style room was a nice experience!

The service was warm and attentive, and the hotel facilities were well-maintained and thoughtfully designed. If you're not driving, be sure to book the shuttle bus. The buffet dinner was definitely a highlight. Personally, I found the tatami somewhat firm.