Takeo Spa Ryokan Onyado Chikurintei

My family of four stayed in Gochiku for two nights in March. It was a little early in the cherry blossom season so I couldn't see it in the garden, but the trees and nature soothed me. The food was also very delicious. I was very happy to see all the little things that were going on. The service provided by Mr. Nakai and his friends is excellent and I would like to stay in a different room next time. It was the most wonderful onsen inn in recent years.

The 11-room Onyado Chikurintei is the only bona-fide luxury ryokan in Takeo Onsen with a reputation of offering seclusion, privacy and high standards of service. This is one of the ryokans where we would've been more than happy staying in one of the mid-category rooms (dubbed the Japanese-Western rooms) - they are plenty spacious, all room have Onsen, and every group of guests are treated to meals served in their own room. That said, we really wanted to try for "VIP Room Shuho", a 250m² stand-alone Villa that has its own dedicated entrance, an open-air Onsen bath, a private rock garden, and commanding views of Mt. Mifuneyama. Shuho also hosted Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko in 1992, as well as the Crown Prince Naruhito and Princess Masako in 1996. Shuho was last renovated in 2017, so it's not at all in shabby condition, either. There is, however, quite a bit of wasted space; Shuho had a few tatami rooms that served no purpose, save for the times when futons are laid out in those rooms to serve 4 or more guests at the same time. We were able to check out two of the more popular rooms - Gochiku and Shakunage, which offer great bang for the buck and, in Shakunage's case, the possibility of being surrounded by Sakura in bloom if you're there at the right time. Service was sophisticated and elegant; our room attendant (Ms. Suzuki) was decked out in a gorgeous silk kimono and was an amazing advisor in helping to craft an efficient self-tour itinerary during our time in the area. She also was extremely knowledgeable of the cuisine that was being served - we got a great education on the unique cooking methods employed by the ryokan's kitchen staff. Here again, our room was refreshed each time we ventured outside, even for a 30 minute walk around the adjacent park. Aman's room ninjas have nothing on Emi Suzuki, that's for sure. The ryokan also shows great flexibility in fulfilling guests' wishes, too. If you'd prefer to have a chair and table rather than sitting on the floor, that's no problem - just notify them at least a day in advance and they can comply. Is the Onsen too hot? An engineer will immediately show up and make the necessary adjustments. I wouldn't call the food a letdown, we didn't feel it lived up to its stellar reputation as a culinary tour-de-force. While they certainly used the highest quality ingredients from the region, the quantity of dishes was less than what we typically experience at other luxury ryokans; we would've preferred more assortment of smaller dishes if we had nit to pick. We love Nodoguro (Blackthroat Seaperch), but having the fish wrapped with various vegetables inside was unnecessary and sort of strange. Ditto for the deep-fried Japanese potato stuffed with Sea Urchin and Lily Bulb. It was - as expected - quite dry, and we barely could taste the Uni that was overpowered by the potato. Some of the courses were terrific, however, especially the Fried buckwheat flour dumplings with walnuts inside. Simple, not too sweet, and had a mochi-like texture mixed with a nutty crunch. Excellent. Given how often we travel to Kyushu, I can imagine us making a repeat visit to Onyado Chikurintei. If there is a next time, we certainly would like to return when flowers are in bloom and there is actual foliage on the trees, and we will combine the stay with a visit to Hirado and Sasebo, two historic locations in remote Nagasaki that we've yet to visit.

I called at the time of booking to confirm that it was verbal on arrival, but when I left, the car (EV car) was not charged, and when I told them on the phone, I didn’t know because yesterday’s person was not there without apology… only.