Ryokan Yamatoya Reviews

Friendly staff and clean lodging. We booked half board which was worthwhile as the food quality was great and especially when restaurants close early within the area, saved us looking for dinner. However, there are a few time slots we need to abide to, which is fine as attractions usually are closed by late afternoon anyway. There is onsen in this accommodation, but it's not big. Enclosed onsen with no external views, and the water has some medical component added thus making the water reddish which may deter guests not accustomed to the color. The Ryokan location is convenient for walking to a few attractions (for those who enjoy walking about 15-30mins to either attraction), which include Takachiho Kagura performance (pre-booking required), Takachiho Gorge, Takachiho Amaterasu Railway - scenic train ride. Do note the train rides cannot be pre-booked, and end by 3PM in the afternoon. And Takachiho Gorge Boat Rental should be pre-booked, with time slot bookings open 7 days before.

When checking in, the staff at the counter could not speak English. With the help of translation software, they only expressed meal times and bath time, but did not mention check-out time and no written instructions! Because I had to go out for fun the next day, I asked the front desk staff at 7:50 for the check-out time. The staff said 12 o'clock in non-standard English. This was the answer that 4 of us heard! We came back at about 10:40, and another service staff kept shouting: "Check out OVER!" When we entered the reception hall, we were surprised to find that our luggage had been cleared out of the room and the suitcase was not fastened. The items were stuffed into the suitcase messily! Perhaps poor language communication was the main reason, but the hotel staff were very, very rude and rude, and they just cleared out the guests' belongings, which was very irritating! Very poor personnel training and management!

It was a fun trip. The accommodation was comfortable, and the meals and hot springs were satisfactory. I will visit again next time and recommend it to my friends.

The hotel's hot spring facilities are too thin and the opening hours are too few. Dinner and breakfast are abundant.

There was a vegetarian staff member among us, and the restaurant carefully prepared vegetarian dishes, allowing us to enjoy traditional Japanese dishes and explain them, which was very considerate. The bathhouse is also very comfortable

I used it as a solo traveler, but I was impressed with the attentive service from check-in to check-out. I was impressed by the devised ways to use local food for dinner and breakfast. I think it's a very good balance between price and service.