Onjuku Yagura Ryokan Reviews

A quaint ryokan nestled in Yufuyin. We booked our night stay with beef dinner and the food was delicious. Service was great and the room was clean. Definitely an experience for foreigners who have not tried ryokan stay before. Just chilling and soaking in own privacy and coming out for meal times.

The food was delicious, the room was comfortable, and the hotel staff provided excellent service.

Perhaps it was summer, but there were far too many insects, especially mosquitoes. The road leading up to this ryokan, nestled in the mountains, is a bit rough. Driving becomes difficult after sunset because it gets incredibly dark. There are no convenience stores nearby, so you need to buy essentials in town before heading up. All the staff were foreigners, but they were generally friendly, and the kaiseki dinner was quite good. The biggest advantage is having an open-air bath attached to the room.

The room was very old and run-down. The split-unit air conditioner, which provides both heating and cooling, wasn't effective enough to warm the room in early March, when temperatures dropped to just a few degrees Celsius at night. It felt quite cold in the room in the evenings. There were no showering facilities inside the room; showers were only available outdoors next to the private open-air bath. In the cold winter temperatures, especially at night, this really detracted from the enjoyment of the private bath (in the end, both my wife and son gave up on using it because it was too cold). The wooden sliding door lock in the room was poorly made, and it took a lot of effort every time to get it to latch properly. Finally, most of the staff were foreign workers whose English wasn't very good (though I assume their Japanese was acceptable, as required by the Japanese government). This made communication difficult for foreign guests. The only thing I was somewhat satisfied with was the dinner, where the food quality was pretty decent.

This is a great onsen experience. The private onsen is a must try experience. The service is wonderful, and the dinners are very nice. The breakfast are so so but okay. The hotel is a bit old but very authentic, so if you stay 2-3 nights it's a wonderful new experience. Any longer than 3 nights you'll start feeling the tatami bed is not comfortable, and the rooms are not very sound proof, etc. All in all, think it's a great place to stay in visiting Yufuin.

The food was generally good, and the service was excellent.

Service was beyond terrible. While to staffs in general was friendly and courteous, the lady host was absolutely horrific. We felt like being rushed for the whole two days we were there at close to US$650 a night. First day soon after we checked in, she immediately asked if we can have dinner at 6:00pm. We said yes but later we wanted to push back by 39 minutes. She said we can’t. Next morning, she asked us what time would we leave hotel after breakfast and dinner time. We agreed on 6:30pm dinner but she called our room at 5:45pm and asked us if we could have dinner at 6:00pm instead. I think she was trying to rush finishing her job. When we complained to her about being rushed, she stopped serving us in the middle of the dinner, we had to press call button before we get our rice. At that time we almost finished our meal. The rice came with a bow of miso soup and a tiny dish of kimchi for us to share. Pathetic! Again we had to call for our deserts to be served. On the morning we left, she was nowhere to be seen. More over the shower was outdoor. The toilet was not heated. The cold water faucet for the outdoor onsen was dropped out. The table inside out room was broken and cut my elbow. For US$650 a night, you can judge the value. Shame of Yufuin. This should not be something that represents ryokans in Yufuin by any standards

really nice onsen open bath the onsen seems like from the source just like kusatzu ones

The location and environment were perfect for sightseeing.

Excellent food and service, comfy room. Enjoyed the onsen very much.

good!!

The fact that each room had an open-air bath and the kaiseki cooked over a fireplace was excellent, but the bedding smelled and there was mold throughout the room, so it was not a pleasant experience.

This was our first time in Yufuin, and thank you Yagra for creating such wonderful memories for us… Let's start with the good points… Even though we've been back in Taiwan for two weeks, we still miss Yagra and Yufuin! The staff were friendly, and one of the foreign staff members spoke fluent English! Communication was very smooth. The rooms weren't large, but they maintained a rustic Japanese atmosphere, which I personally loved! Even the safe had a wooden key lock! It was quite interesting! Our elders felt very comfortable there. There weren't many rooms in total, so it still felt private, which was a pleasant surprise! As for the onsen (hot springs), it was too cold in the room, so I didn't try the outdoor bath, but the public bath was quite nice! Most importantly, their food was outstanding! We extended our stay for two more nights, and every day we enjoyed different kinds of exquisite and delicious meals! The first day was yakiniku (grilled meat), and the second day was hot pot. The meat, grilled fish, and Japanese cold dishes were all excellent (except for natto, which I just didn't like)! Even our elders raved about it! Before leaving, we bought several packets of their special miso to take home! It was so delicious with the pan-fried fish fillets! So, the most anticipated time of day was mealtime! The food was top-notch among all the hot spring inns I've stayed at! Five stars! Now, let's talk about the downsides. Since we had a chartered car, transportation wasn't a problem for us. However, if you were using public transport, it might be inconvenient, as the location on the mountain is quite a distance from the Yufuin area, about a 5-10 minute drive. Secondly, there was no drinking water provided in the room, so we had to ask the staff to fill our water bottles every morning before taking them back. Finally, regarding the public bath area, since there were five women in our family, we all bathed together, which led to several problems! For example, there was only one hairdryer in the grooming area! No towels were provided, so we had to bring our own from the room and then take them back; there was no drinking water, so we had to go back to the room to rehydrate after bathing; there was no heating, so it was very cold as soon as we stepped out of the bath! We had to get dressed quickly, especially since we had elderly relatives and a baby to take care of… and there were even Japanese people using their cell phones inside! I really don't understand this! We could only ask her to put it away in broken Japanese, which is common knowledge even we know… So we decided to go to the public pool later, and after about 8:00 PM, it was practically empty, which made things go more smoothly and created some very special memories! That's my sharing. If I travel alone again next time, I would like to return to Yagra, but if you have elderly people or young children with you, I suggest choosing a room with a private bathroom for convenience! Overall, it was definitely worth it! Thank you Yagra for your kind hospitality!

Although the hotel is a bit old, it's exactly the style and feel I wanted: rustic decor, beautiful surroundings, a first-class private bath, and a great location—perfect for anyone who enjoys hiking. Dinner and breakfast were incredibly plentiful. In short, it was fantastic, and I'll definitely come back.