Wafu Ryokan Tsuenosho

The Ryokan is an easy 15-18 mins walk from Yufuin train station. Also it’s approx 10 mins walk to Lake Kinrin/main shopping street. We booked a room with mountain views, half board for 3 nights and it certainly didn’t disappoint. We loved waking up each morning to the eye catching views of mount Yufu. Our room looked and felt very traditional, it’s spacious, bright, quiet, clean and fully equipped with everything you need. They have a small indoor/outdoor onsen which one we used a lot. Luckily every time I went it was empty. One time I bathed outside and it was snowing which was a wonderful experience (all that was missing were some Snow Monkeys!) Also, I have to mention the kaiseki. The food is just out of this world- for me easily one of the best kaiseki dinning experiences. The evening meal consisted of 6 beautifully presented courses. You could just tell they used the freshest local ingredients and prepared with a lot of skill/care. Breakfast consisted of a delicious traditional Japanese breakfast with an assortment of dishes. Both breakfast/dinner was served in a traditional way making the overall experience all the better. Dinner is served either at 6pm or 7pm and breakfast is served either at 8am or 8.30am. The staff were all very attentive, welcoming and helpful. Hats off to the girl who served us dinner- she was very professional and took time to explain what the dishes consisted of (not that it’s a problem but just be mindful not all staff speak English very well). The only minor issue was that it would have been nice to have the bins in our room emptied during our stay. Also it would have been nice to have a pick up/drop off service from/to the train station. So, if you’re looking for a peaceful place to stay surrounded by nature together with the whole traditional Ryokan/kaiseki experience then you won’t be disappointed.

My wife and I stayed here in early October. This is a lovely, small ryokan on the outskirts of Yufuin, benefitting from a quieter location and stolen scenery from the mountains. This operates in a traditional way offering an authentic ryokan experience. Whilst relatively small it makes the most of itself and the rooms are large, light and (at least on first floor where we stayed ) enjoy good views. The food is exquisite, not just presentationally but in its sourcing; we enjoyed high quality local Oita beef and Seki Agi sushi when we stayed. The hotel’s service is also exceptional clearly putting attention and “ceremony”into even the simplest tasks. I would stay here again and wholly recommend it for the experience it offers.

Our family stayed at this hotel in July 2017. We came by car. It is around 3 minutes drive from the city centre. So will take around 20 mins on foot from the train station. The rooms are clean. As we came mid week with low occupancy, the hotel was very flexible and changed the male and female onsens into two family onsens. The breakfast was great. However, I found it difficult to enjoy my breakfast as there is no chair but this is the local tradition. My only suggestion is that the onsens are closed for cleaning from 10am to 3pm. As we were staying for 2 nights, we were not able to enjoy the onsen in the morning of our 2nd day. In addition, I felt the indoor onsen were way too hot whereas the outdoor onsen were too cold. There were lots of frogs even inside the onsen which was fun for my 4 and 7 year old. The hotel is within 10 minutes walk from the Kinrin lake.