Shinanoki Ichinoyu

For this trip I asked my travel consultant to find me a ryokan with an onsen. She exceeded expectations and came back with two; one older/traditional and one more contemporary which was this one. My room was a twin Japanese style room with an open air bath, it was in the annex building and I believe it was room 2105. The room had a fair amount of space for the main section, with the non-sleeping area all covered in tatami matting. There was a bit of storage, but only a rail on a wall for hanging things up. The wet area consists of a room with a sink and off that a room for a toilet and a room for a shower/washing area that also leads out to the open air bath. I’m not a huge bath fan, but the open air bath was fantastic. After a hard day’s tourist tramping around Hakone it was really nice to have a long soak before dinner. A definite hi light of my trip. Another plus to the room for me was a safe that was big enough to put an iPad in. Plus it wasn’t tucked away somewhere suitably difficult to get to. The main down side to the room was that it is very dark. The only natural light first has to come through the fixed blind outside, before making its was though the window to the bath. The lighting is not particularly bright and this is very evident over the sink which could really do with a light above the mirror, as the overhead light really isn’t doing a good job. I’ve seen some other reviews that complained about road noise if staying in the annex, but I don’t recall it being a problem, even when soaking in the bath. My room rate included dinner and breakfast, both Japanese style. The food was delicious and plentiful with the odd instructions or advice from the staff as what to do/eat and when, as there’s usually quite a bit set in front of you! I should also point out that free drinks are provided all day, which also includes beer! Though the beer is limited to between 1500 and 2000. The ryokan is pretty much next to the Diagatake bus stop, which is roughly ten minutes down to Togendai, twenty-five minutes to Hakone-Yumoto and fifty minutes to Odawara. Also next the bus stop is a convenience store if you need to pick up any snacks/drinks/etc. The staff were friendly enough and spoke enough English if you’re Japanese doesn’t stretch that far. They explained the usual rules/guidance which often accompanies your standard ryokan stay. For the uninitiated, let’s just say a ryokan is very much not like your normal Western-style hotel! I say this as there were some Americans checking in before me who really had no idea about what they had been booked into! Overall I very much enjoyed my stay here and would recommend it to anyone who would like to split the Hakone loop up over a night or two.

This was a wonderful ryokan! I highly recommend staying here. We loved our private onsen, and the room was very spacious. The food was also fantastic, and we loved trying everything. There is a bus stop right outside the hotel, so we were able to easily access getting around. We also enjoyed walking to the nearby 7/11, as well as Ryukozan Choanji.

I really enjoyed our one night stay here. The location is easy to access with hakone free pass. The room was lovely and I loved the hanging chairs. We spent the evening in the private onsen after one of the best meals I've had in Japan! Onsen was a great temperature. It looks small but will fit you in! All was clean. Nice and private. Breakfast was still great and as high quality as dinner but not so much to my tastes!