Yasugien

What a wonderful little ryokan this is! It is like a step back into the Showa era in many respects, as many of the appointments appear to date back to that time. I don’t know how it is that they have been able to maintain everything in such good condition. And they do an excellent job of cleaning. The place is simple and unpretentious, but they just do everything so well. For example, in our room were some cut fresh flowers in a simple glass vase—not the fancy ikebana arrangement you might find in a much more expensive ryokan, but so thoughtful and sweet. The baths were very nice, especially the rotenburo, and the food was amazing, both dinner and breakfast. Each meal provided a fairly conventional set of dishes that you would expect at an old-fashioned ryokan, but there were an impressive number of items and some very thoughtful touches, and everything tasted just right. We were very full by the end of dinner, so when they offered to bring us our dessert of cut seasonal fruit on a tray to take to our rooms to enjoy later, we gratefully accepted. I really cannot say enough good things about this place. I went there because of its proximity to the Adachi Museum, which I had been to several times on day trips. But the next time I am in this part of Japan, if I go to the Adachi Museum it will be because of its proximity to Yasugien… Honestly, I would be happy to go back any time. If you are looking for an impeccable high-end ryokan that serves elaborate kaiseki ryori and has maids bustling around in expensive kimonos, this is not it. But Yasugien has heart and soul, and is a real treasure.