Beautiful place. With beautiful breakfast , Japanese. They adapted to our three kids that are not accustomed to eat fish for breakfast and they received beautiful western breakfast with the best toast ever. We had unforgettable time as family

The onsen was very good, both the inside and the outside one. It was very easy to book the onsen, we did it at the time of the check in. We had private toilet. We had a fridge. The room seem very traditional Japanese. There were not many gests. There was the option of reting card games.

It was a little bit far from the center, however you could easily reach it by walking 10/15m, however there was no sidewalk and it was a little bit dark, but nothing too dangerous. We were 6 people, however just 5 futons fitted in the room comfortably. The water in the onsen was too hot, however I understand that it was summer and very humid outside.

The Onsen was luxurious, calming and relaxing. I am happy that you can reserve the Onsen privately. Their room was able to accommodate our family of four. The bed was made by tempurpedic and we had a goodnight sleep after Onsen. The bus stop was a short walk around 150m from the property.

We missed to find the property the first day. Its a rural area so public transportation was not running like after 1830 and I am not putting it on the property. This is for your information only.

very nice staff, excellent service, great breakfast

The third futon didn't have a duvet

Calm and peaceful ryokan in a beautiful location. Three different options for private onsen, one indoor, one outdoor and one with both. Staff is friendly and speaks English which is a huge help for overseas travelers. The room was clean and had both beds and futon options, as well as a traditional sitting area. Breakfast was beautifully presented and featured a variety of flavours. We felt welcomed and catered to.

The ryokan is far up a mountain and getting there on foot may be difficult for some. Highly recommend using buses and/or trams. The staff misread our booking at first and claimed we had not made reservations for breakfast, which we had. Luckily it was a small misunderstanding that was cleared up. Breakfast was not included by default and finding the option when booking was a bit difficult. There also seemed to be dinner available when we got there, but we did not see an option to reserve dinner when booking.

Breakfast was great! Wife and I thoroughly enjoyed all of the dishes served.

For kids or guests not familiar with traditional Japanese style breakfasts, having additional veggie offerings in addition to fish or meat based options would help.

Friendly staff, great dinner and breakfast. Real hot springs.

clean and kind VERY GOOD COMMUNICATION VIA MESSAGING

needs a little more food options but it’s quaint so what do I except? would be nice to have cream to put in coffee. coffee provided but no creamer.

We absolutely loved the ryokan—the staff were very kind and helpful and the room was very nice. The three private onsens were amazing and the place felt very small and friendly. Would 1000% recommend ordering breakfast as well!

We really liked that the ryokan was up in the mountains (a hilly 15min walk or quick cable car from Gora station) but it’s not for everyone!

Our stay here was really nice! The staff were really friendly~ I recall Rubi giving us a very warm welcome :) it felt like an authentic Japanese experience and I reccomend it!

Staff were very accommodating and very nice, despite our group having a last-minute addition to our stay. The onsen are all private, and there are 3 different selections of onsen you could pick for a 50 min time slot. My recommendation would be the inside and outside onsen combo. Breakfast was very good. There was also a section of board games and cards for you to freely use. Overall great place for a private onsen.

Slight issue would be that for our group of 5, it was slightly cramped for the singular onsen selections, but if you were to have a similar group size, go for the inside and outside onsen combo.

Very kind staff, comfortable spacious room. The privatw onsen was a delight, though I should have brought water to drink with me-- rookie mistake. The location was very scenic. Their landscaping was lovely and the birds outside were fun to listen to. The room was clean and serene. I opened the windows and sat in them for a while. The decor is very traditional. It felt like a cultural experience. I didn't expect this, but the staff spoke great English, which made things easy. They were very responsive to questions before and during the stay. I didnt eat there but the dining room looked just as peaceful. Wish I could have stayed longer. The yukata was comfy and I felt sooo relaxed. I also loved vwing able to buy a bottle of local sake from the frot desk. A refreshing stay.

Had to pay for water for the first time on my trip. Also this next one isn't the ryokan's fault, but pro tip: the taxi service in Hakone is not ideal. We were trying to get two taxis and ended up with zero. If you can, I would call the ryokan ahead and ask them to order you a taxi from gora station for your arrival time so you don't end up waiting 20 minutes. That said, we tried to order a taxi ahead for the morning and they couldn't get in touch with the company-- had to move our plans around in a pretty big way. It all worked out, but keep in mind that you will either have to pack light like we did or be very patient.

onsen was very clean and rooms were spacious and comfortable! The breakfast was filling and delicious! The best part of our stay was the staff!! so helpful and accommodating!

the only complaint was the distance the hotel was from some restaurants and bars. not a far walk or drive!

Spacious rooms, comfortable futons, beautiful indoor/outdoor onsen. Yukata provided, slippers provided

I wish it wass clear on booking.com that guests need to reserve meals in advance.

Excellent breakfast and dinner, the cooking and presentation of all dishes was to the very highest standard. The staff all spoke excellent English and made us feel very welcome. The bathing facilities were excellent in every way and very clean. The room was of a decent size and comfortable for our family.

Quiet ryokan in Gora. We got a taxi ride from Odawara but the hotel is within 10 minutes walk from Gora station. It looked updated, with nicely furnished rooms. There are 3 private onsens available which had to be booked for morning and afternoon uses, 50 minute sessions. We ordered both dinner and breakfast service and were not disappointed, both meals were tasty and beautifully served. Alcohol costs extra. Overall it was a very pleasant stay.

Two best things about the ryokan: 1. Great breakfast and dinner course offerings - there is always something different to eat. All of the courses are pretty delicious; especially the western-styled breakfast on my second breakfast. 2. Two private bath sessions of 50 minutes (at the time of writing this review) per day - evening and the next morning. You can make your reservations the moment you arrive for check in. There are three different types of baths and my favourite is the indoor/outdoor type where you can soak at either place (I opt to try the outdoor bath at the end of winter which is wild). For my first ryokan stay, the overall accommodation is great. My friend and I were able to book a taxi with the help of the staff to a train station for our trip back to the airport in Narita. I also found it surprising that there is a Fire Stick installed onto the TV, so it is nice for some better entertainment.

Perhaps the journey to the ryokan from the nearest station (Gora) was tiring due to the high slope terrain, but it is still manageable and we treat it as a nice long hike. We did not bring much to the accommodation since we left our luggages at Hakone-Yumoto station, which I can definitely recommend if you plan to stay for a maximum of three days.

The hot springs were wonderful! We had our best nights sleep in Japan here on the soft futons after enjoying a fantastic dinner and soak. Breakfast was also delicious & the staff was very accommodating to our party’s dietary restrictions. Definitely worth a trip out here.

The private baths were very beautiful and comfortable. They had three rooms - one outdoor, one indoor, and one outdoor + indoor. Each party can reserve time in the natural hot spring onsen twice per "day" - once at night after check in and once in the morning before check out. The water in the baths were the perfect temperature and facilities and amenities in the bath were excellent and very scenic. Overall, the private baths were the highlight of the stay at this ryokan. The room itself is pretty standard/basic for a ryokan - clean and comfortable and traditional - but lacking some basic amenities that even smaller, more affordable ryokans traditionally provide, such as toiletries and the welcome snack and hot tea when you arrive. Unlike some of the fancier ryokans, you do not have a dedicated attendant to prepare your room before/after meals or assist you during your stay, which is not necessarily a problem but something to consider if this is your first time at a ryokan or want to get the full, luxurious ryokan experience. One set of yukatas to wear around the property are provided to each guest for free. The breakfast was pretty basic but it was yummy and very filling. You can leave your luggage at the onsen before/after check in/check out for free. Be sure to ask the staff to reserve a taxi for you the night before, as the hours between check out and noon are "rush hours" and you may need to wait several hours to get a taxi if you don't reserve.

BEWARE - dinner is NOT included in your reservation. At most ryokans, kaiseki dinner is standard/included in your reservation, but this is not the case at Ajisai! There is NO OPTION to book dinner at this ryokan through Booking.com and they do not specify this anywhere in the description of the property or the booking details. There is only the option for "No Meal" or "Add Breakfast" when booking through this website. At no point did the property inform us about this either after we made the reservation. We arrived at the property around 6pm, eagerly looking forward to a delicious dinner and relaxing bath, tired and hungry after a long day of traveling from Osaka, only to discover this unfortunate news! A terrible way to end a great vacation in Japan! As with most onsen towns, all the local shops (including the convenience stores) and restaurants close by 5pm, so all we had to eat that night were the snacks we brought with us and some instant ramen we were able to buy from the onsen! The staff were also very unhelpful during this entire ordeal - they did not make any effort to try to resolve the situation or make our stay more comfortable They also did not offer any suggestions on what to do either. Overall, the staff seemed pretty poorly equipped or trained in hospitality management. This onsen is also pretty inconveniently located. It is located in Gora, which is about an hour away from Hakone-Yumoto station by local train. Once you arrive at Gora station, you then need to get a taxi from Gora station to the ryokan if it's dark or you have luggage, as it's an uphill walk through a complicated and inconvenient path (through tunnel underpass and twisting streets).