This is an old school Ryokan, the building is well kept but you can feel that it is old and authentic. The meals were excellent (both dinner and breakfast) and were served in the room, which has its pluses but is also a little strange as there is staff in your room early in the mornings. The staff is very nice and accommodating. The outside onsen is beautiful and is accessed with a fenicular which is a fun experience. We arrived with a baby and we had a great experience.

There is only one outside onsen and it is time shared by women and men. The time table seems to favor the men a little more but perhaps this depends on your schedule and when you get up and go to sleep. The inside onsen was slightly too hot for my taste so only used it for a short dip and used the showers.

Everything surpassed my expectations. Starting from the intitial communication to accommodate our vegetarian requirements to the final checkout, we were treated with utmost hospitality. The ryokan is easy to find on foot (good signage throughout the town). We got a thorough explanation of the facilities upon check-in. The hospitality was flawless, far better and more engaged than in most ryokan I've stayed at. Above avarage command of English of most staff members. Large, well-appointed, very comfortable room in Japanese style. The outdoor onsen was a highlight especially for my son (thanks to the cable car) and has a serene setting overlooking the town and the sea. Peaceful lounge overlooking an enclosed garden with massage devices. As for the facilities, the building offers the best combination of tradional without being outdated and modern without fluff or losing its charm. The dinner and breakfast were served in our room, again great professionalism and overall some of the best ryokan kaiseki meals I've had - huge variety, emphasis on local cuisine, no shortcuts (some other hotels can't accomodate vegetarians or serve less intricate meals if they do). We were gracefully offered a shuttle to the station when we checked out, another good example of service mentality.

At times, the indoor onsen was unexpectedly hot, depending on preference.

Nice and relaxing traditional Japanese hotel. We’ve booked spacious room for 4 people with our friends with breakfast and dinner included. Dinner is really something - it’s served inside the room and contained various chois of delicious traditional food. Breakfast is also amazing but might be a little bit heavy (also contains various of more traditional food), if you used to more “coffee and toast” way. Something that deserves special mention is open-air onsen up the hill with great city view (you could get there by elevator or stairs) and a couple of inner onsens changing during day hours (man/ ladies). We’ve been there mid-April during the working week so there were not many guests around. So late evening we’ve been enjoying the open-air onsen by ourselves (ladies). Please note there is also separate ladies and man hours. There are many interesting places around easy to get by bus or train - zoo with capybaras, suspension bridge, etc. So it’s definitely worth to stay for a couple of days. The place itself is easy to get by train: we took Shinkansen from Kioto to Atarmi and next regional train to Ito. The hotel is within 10 minutes walking from the station. Stuff was really nice and friendly ready to provide all the instructions, which is really helpful if it’s your first time at traditional hotel (which was for us). Also nice to mention there were nice bathroom accessories in common places: shampoos, lotions, hair-dryers - all good quality, prepared thoughtfully and pleasant to use. And perfect mattresses and pillows. And they give you personal yukata to walk around :) It was new experience to me and a good way to switch off from big cities. Highly recommend!

Everything! You will not find a more authentic Japanese experience than this inn! I wish we had stayed longer. Everything was perfect. Unfortunately it rained for two days straight… so our sightseeing was cut short…. But staying here totally made the trip worth while!! From the welcome at reception, to the amazing view from our room and everything in between… it was perfect. We stayed in a room with a hot spring bath in the bathroom. The dinner and breakfast were delivered to our room. The “kitchen” staff were gorgeous! The futons were comfortable, and everything was spotless. We tried the open air bath at night. Such a different experience in the rain. Sitting in a warm bath, under the roof, listening to the rain falling! It was so peaceful. The owners are very kind and gracious. They are the 5th generation of the family to own the ryokan. They even offered us a lift to the station in the morning and helped us with an issue that we had with our tickets. I am definitely returning in the future!

Really nice atmosphere with traditional Japanese ryokan rooms. Three great onsens. Common spaces are great too. Super nice and warm service, felt welcome and cozy from the moment we arrived to Yokikan. Staff offered great info and recommendations of the area and even drove us back to the station when we left. Every morning and evening a table filled with delicious traditional food. Didn't want to leave!

There was a squirrel rattling above our ceiling one night. During the night a bit startling to wake up to as it sounded so close, the next morning funny to hear about from the owner. Not a big problem, part of the adventure. Spring time makes them wild!

I can't emphasize enough how exceptional our stay was. I was simply searching for a Ryokan, and Yokikan had good ratings, but everything far exceeded my expectations. The eight-dish dinner (included in the fare!) and breakfast, the authentic and time-worn interior that beautifully tells its history through its wear and tear, and the impeccable maintenance stood out. The hilltop open-air Onsen and the incredibly welcoming staff were also highlights. My wife and I loved every detail. My wife joked that if she were a prisoner and suddenly treated this way, it must mean she'd be executed the next day. From the beginning of our stay, we were warmly greeted by the staff. The general manager took the time to explain everything to us in great detail in fluent English. The meals felt hearty and homely. Enjoying the hot spring bath, wearing Yukata, and strolling around the town were all delightful. We even had the opportunity to participate in a local summer festival, which fulfilled a childhood dream of mine. It felt like a scene from an anime. What I truly appreciated was that the festival was genuinely for locals. Everyone came out to join the occasion, making it feel authentic rather than a tourist trap. When we returned to Tokyo, we were overwhelmed with nostalgia, as if we had awoken from an ethereal sweat dream.

Nothing

Yokikan is a wonderful place to stay in Ito. From the beginning, we were greeted with such hospitality. They came to grab our luggage from outside when we arrived and brought it into our room for us. They took the time to give us a full introduction of the property, our room, the facilities, the timing of the onsen, and the timing of our breakfast so we are aware of when we must be awake and ready before they arrive into the room. We also received lots of support on where to visit in the area and how to get there. The general manager Akihisa Inaba unexpectedly waited for us outside in the car to drive us to Ito Station when we went out for our day trip. He also drove us there with our luggage after checking out. The breakfast was amazing and the staff were very kind. The room was also very spacious.

We had a great holiday at this traditional and beautiful ryokan in Ito! Our apartment had a nice view of the city, it was very spacious, and it was a special experience to sleep on futon beds. We slept very well. The rooftop bath (onsen) is magical, especially in the evening when you take a bath and look at the stars at the same time. It is also a cool experience to take the funicular to the top. The staff was very friendly and took good care of us. The manager spoke very good English and even gave us a ride to the station on our departure day. We are very pleased that we decided to order dinner at the ryokan. A big thank you to the kind Japanese women who prepared delicious meals for us. It is highly recommended and were some of the most delicious meals we enjoyed in Japan. We will remember this trip for a long time and are very happy we stayed here!

I would have wished for smaller slippers, since there were a lot of stairs to our room. Perhaps also an everyday cleaning, even though we got new kimonos, bed linen and towels every day.

First of all the staff were very helpful and nice. We stayed in a big room, and the meals (dinner and breakfast) were served in our room. The food was very good, lots of different dishes, we enjoyed it a lot. Special mention goes to the outside bath. You have to take a small cable car / elevator to access it, and you have a beautiful view of the town. There are lots of attractions nearby such as Mount Omuro, Shaboten Zoo (capybaras) and the Ikeda Museum.

You can tell this Ryokan has a lot of tradition. There is not only an indoor bath, but also an outside Onsen that you reach with a small funicular. From there you have a great view over Ito. The food, which is served in the room, was superb (if you like traditional Japanese dishes). The general manager is fluent in english and very helpful, he welcomed us and explained everything that is to know about staying in a Ryokan and was available to help should there be any problem in communicating with the rest of the staff that did not speak much english. He even drove us to the train station when we departed to save us the 10-15 minute walk. I highly recommend a stay a Yokikan, thank you for the great service!

As mentioned, the hotel is quite old, in fact over a hundred years. And despite everything being very clean and well looked after you can tell that some of the furnishing is a bit dated. Not a dealbraker at all, but something you should be aware of if you are looking for something more modern.