Bettei Otozure

WOW! This was the first Ryokan Onsen that I stayed in and I was blown away by the lodging, the amazing staff, and the food. I say lodging because my ryokan has as much square footage as my home—a balcony, an outdoor onsen, shower and changing area, two separate toilet rooms, an open configurable area with kitchen, dining area, living room area, and sleeping area. They provided a yukata and a cloth purse that I wore for meals in the restaurant, and pajamas for relaxing in the accommodations. Every corner of the room and the ryokan was thoughtfully decorated—flower arrangements, ceramics, pictures, and so on. Happy hour each evening was a relaxing affair in the low-key bar area. Our tuxedo-clad host was efficient and friendly. Guests have a choice of "American" or Japanese breakfast. I tried each. "American" breakfast is much different from what we'd have in the USA, but you won't get the tasty Umeboshi plum or Japanese pickles provided with the Japanese breakfast. I found that both choices were far too much for me. On two days I opted instead to get a pastry from the bake shop and eat in my room. The kaiseki was fabulous. I was with a group (10 total) so we dined in our own room each night. Each night had a different menu. If you want to get an idea of what the experience was like, see the photos I posted for each of the kaiseki courses we had on the first night. Thanks to Head Chef Junichi Takeda for the wonderful meals and to Otani-san for being such a gracious and wonderful host.