We spent 4 nights in Takaragawa onsen ousenkaku. The onsen is just so tranquil and picturesque, this really is right up there with the best in the world in our humble opinion. 4 large onsen baths, varying in temperature, one for women only. All with views to a river, blended seamlessly into the stunning natural environment around. You really get an idea of traditional onsen in Japan here, we found the experience to be rejuvenating and restful. When we were there the baths were not busy at all, sometimes we had a whole pool to ourselves. It is also atmospherically lit, so bathing at night is also a pleasure and delight for the senses. Onsen are available 24 hours, with the exception of one hour here and there for cleaning. We didn't have great weather everyday, but honestly you're in a roasting hot onsen, so it actually doesn't matter and is beautiful anyway! In our opinion, you need to stay for at least 2 nights at the hotel to get the best of the experience and bathe at different times of day. The hotel is very quaint and we were fortunate enough to stay in a lovely old Annex room, right next to the river. The free transfer bus from Jomo-Kogen station is convenient and makes for a hassle free check in and check out, we were able to book via messenger on booking.com. The staff were all very lovely, in the restaurant, at reception and housekeeping. Amenities were fabulous. We were encouraged to wear yukata robes and change to different pattern each day if we wanted to! Food was delicious- very filling Japanese dinner and breakfast! They also offered a bento lunchbox and delivered it to the room for ¥1000. Public baths indoors were clean and lovely spaces too. If you want a gorgeous onsen experience just 1 hour by shinkansen away from Tokyo, just book it !

Nothing.

We had a fantastic stay here. We chose a more budget friendly room in the "annex" section which had a shared bathroom. We were expecting a pretty small room, but actually our room was really spacious with an amazing view of the river and the hot springs! Guests are given these cloth outfits to wear while soaking in the hot springs - men have this wraparound skirt and women have this potato sack type dress. But actually it is pretty comfortable and dries quickly, so it was easy enough to wear at the hot springs. There are three spacious co-ed pools, and the pools never felt crowded, even during the peak time in the afternoon. When we went in the evening right after dinner we had an entire pool to ourselves for quite a while! The meals are a fantastic experience in their own right, with many traditional Japanese dishes and small hotpots or griddles to cook certain foods yourself at each meal. I recommend bringing some extra snacks for between meals. For lunch they offer a really yummy $10 bento box. The rooms are traditional style with tatami mats, sliding doors and futons, but they are really spacious and comfortable. They also provide you with traditional yukatas to wear while you are at the resort, which added to the cultural experience. The pools themselves have different temperatures, and the temps greatly depend on which part of the pool you are in. So there is something for everyone, whether you like it hot or lukewarm. We also enjoyed a short hike (maybe 1-1.5 hours round trip) behind the hotel. The trail starts from a back door in the annex of the hotel, and goes up a hill to a lookout point with pretty views. The trail isn't very well maintained and it's hard to trail find at points, but the main tip is when you get to the old abandoned hot springs building, follow the trail behind the building (not over the sketchy looking bridge thing).

Some of the facilities could use a bit of an update, but it also adds to the old rustic feel of the place. Also there is only one bathroom down by the pools that is open, but it'd be great if the second bathroom was open to make it easier to access the washrooms when you're at the pools.

so amazing! osens was great! safe was amazing! definitely recommend to get a more traditional japan hotel! Erica was so helpful with so many thing’s appreciate her so much as well as rest of the staff. definitely take shuttle bus it will save you $$. food was great! definitely recommend. they give you a beautiful kimono like rob that everyone wears around the hotel. so amazing

shuttle bus only runs from jomo station to hotel two times in the morning and one time in the morning from hotel to station

This place is magical. We spent 2 days completely immersed in the atmosphere of the ryokan, with the beautiful onsen and the delicious, very well curated meals. Yes, it's tourist-y, some "traditional" aspects of onsen culture such as bathing naked have been changed, maybe to adapt to a more international audience or other reasons. However, at least for a person travelling from Europe, those little details didn't make the experience any less beautiful. Me and my husband fully enjoyed the silence and the slow pace of this place. We had breakfast & dinner included and, as much as it was a bit hard to adapt to certain flavors in the morning specifically, we soon adjusted to it and enjoyed the experience fully. The staff is kind and ready to help at any time, which makes the experience even better. As much as we thoroughly enjoyed the experience while living it, thinking back to those days makes me realize even more how amazing and magical those two days really were. Would go back in a heartbeat :)

The place could use a little more maintenance. Some things looked like they had not been fixed in a long time, such as the door nob of our room. That was not a big issue, but small details that would elevate the experience even more. As for the room, we would have appreciated having a reading lamp or just a different light other than the ceiling lamp which was very strong and not great to use at night when reading. A little touch that makes a big difference :)

Our experience was amazing. We absolutely loved everything about our stay wish we could have stayed longer. The staff were wonderful . The view from our corner room was picturesque and going to sleep with the sound of the river and the warmed floor was cozy. Bathing in the baths was therapeutic .The food was what I call clean food, fresh tasty with different unique things to try. Our boys even tried out some new things. Thank you so much . ☺️

We chose the annex room which was amazing right next to a waterfall. You sleep on futons on the floor and with the waterfall in the background I slept like a log. The authentic Japanese banquet was delicious and staff were all super friendly. the hot springs pools were beyond what I expected and at night it was like a fairyland. There is a shared toilet done the hall which was clean. Would highly recommend this experience.

The futons were quite firm on the floor so we put two together and it was more comfy then. But otherwise staying in that room was awesome.

The staff was extremely helpful and informative; if anyone had difficulty with English, another staff member would step in to assist. They were fast to respond on the booking app if I had any questions and were accommodating to changes in my stay. All in all, their staff is top-notch. The meals were delicious and well prepared, with each course explained and had a beautiful presentation. The room was spacious and had a gorgeous view of the river, which was exceptional since it was snowing during our stay. It was nice to sit and watch the snow fall while drinking tea. All of the bath options were amazing; the indoor option was great for quick and quiet bathing and had lovely statues and rock formations. The outdoor baths were a trek, especially in the cold, but the location was beautiful and worth the trip.

The setting of the property is amazing - the outdoor onsen being right next to the river. The buildings are old and could use some upgrading, but they were kept clean. Dinner and breakfast were delicious and plentiful. The staff were friendly and welcoming. The inside onsen was nice and hot.

This is not the fault of the property, but as an FYI for mid-winter guests, the outdoor natural hot spring bath was lukewarm because it had been exposed to the cold air. I was apologetically warned about this by the staff at check-in, but was nevertheless disappointed. For the larger mixed gender bath, one wears a towel wrap. After a dip in the lukewarm water, the wet towel wrap in cold air felt like having an ice pack around my torso. There is a women only outdoor bath nearby where one can go in nude, but that too was lukewarm. Hence, mid-winter may not be an ideal time for a visit here if a relaxing soak in the HOT outdoor onsen is the purpose, although the scenery in white was lovely.

An incredible experience up in the mountains! We stayed for one night, which for us was the perfect amount to experience the onsen and traditional rooms. The hotel make travel to the remote area easy for people coming by train, and arranging a spot on their free mini bus was easy beforehand. The food was lovely, and the staff were all incredibly kind, explaining how the outside onsen work. My partner is also over 6ft, and there were yukata and slippers that worked for him - he just had to remember to duck :)!

The breakfast was a bit of an acquired taste but all of it was lovely to try! Vending machines are a bit pricier than usual ones in Tokyo probably because of location, something to bear in mind if you want a drink. I'm not sure how staying multiple days would be as you are quite isolated.

The onsen was amazing! Different temperatures to move between and one very warm spot, nice! Beautiful surrounding, like an anime fairytale! Pretty yukatas! Nice room with good view and warm tatami floor! The futon was warm and the blanket super fluffy!! The gift shop clerk was so nice and helpful, helped me to buy the right size yukata and color! Simple explanation from station to shuttlebus by photos and also good detailed explanation of facility at check-in.

Very polite and nice but they didn’t know much english at the restaurant and couldn’t explain how to eat the food. One waiter just excused himself and ran off. Maybe it’s just my bad back but a bit thicker mattress and pillow would be nice.