Hoshino Resorts KAI Kinugawa

I had a wonderful stay at this hotel. The service, food, and warm hospitality were truly exceptional, and the design throughout the property was beautifully done. It's the kind of place where you can easily spend the whole day just relaxing and enjoying the atmosphere. The only downside is the access—it's a bit remote, so you'll need to take a taxi (about 1,000 yen - 7 dollars) to and from the nearest station. Still, once you're there, it's more than worth it.

Beautiful hotel/onsen. Loved the monorail up, design of outdoor and indoor, beautiful pottery on display. Onsen inside and outside both lovely, would be amazing during sakura season. The food was very good. I asked to swap the sashimi for something else but they rejected the request. I understand but at the same time it’s not difficult to put something else in. Kids meals were basically the same as adult but smaller, I’m guessing not too many kids come here. I loved that each day you get different meals. Overall I would recommend for the experience but only a f you fully love all Japanese food.

It is a most beautiful hot spring hotel and offer exciting while relaxing experience. Located about 20 comfortable walking minutes from kinugawa onsen train station, the hotel could be reached by local shuttle bus or taxi (1200 yen and most convenient). From the entrance we walked through a beautiful serene leafy path to reach the hotel cable station and a two minute cable further took us the hotel lobby. So the hotel is rather kept away from the onsen community of the street and offers a real serene experience. The inside and details are rather consistent with the other Hoshino hotels we have visited and so we as nervous tourists would feel familiar and comfortable. We are given a first floor room with beautiful views into the garden filled with trees and leafs. We love it. The public bath is not large but soothing and melded well with the whole environs. The hot spring is of the pure kind and hence mild, not too hot or too offensive. I have to single out the dinner and the staff. The traditional Japanese dinner is even better than our expectation. We can feel the efforts chef carefully and proudly prepare every dishes with very sparkling innovations. The food materials are of the highest quality. Almost every staff we met are nice and enthusiastic, exemplifying the best guest greeting culture of Japan. This is not easy as we are the few guests who don't speak Japanese and we felt welcome and comfortable. Anyway this is a very exciting onsen experience, convenient from Tokyo (2 hours, we took Tobu Spacia X from Asakusa). We haven't got a chance to visit the Kunagawa creek and 龍門峽. Will do it next time.

🌸 During cherry blossom season the trees bloomed in the Onsen. It was really beautiful and special but… The property itself was designed beautifully, the entire venue flowed through nature. The room was beautiful too but the view to other Onsen was not. The food was super delicious but it was a little small, you get full mostly from the end dish which is just rice. The public baths were really small only 2 small baths. Although beautiful and modern, it was really nothing special compared to many other ryokans I’ve been to. I think it’s only worth coming during cherry blossom season or if you get an amazing deal on it. On season highs it can be ¥80000 yen for 2 people but if you can get it for half that price then it’s a reasonable stay.

A short, relaxing stay at this ryokan was a memorable one. It is tucked away in untouched nature, so serene. After a long day of walking, the onsen helped to relieve all your muscle sores. If you have food restrictions or allergies, they can accommodate for you, as long as your request is placed in advanced. The elevator bringing you to the hotel through the trees was a lovely surprise. Kinda built up the anticipation. Overall, we enjoyed our stay very much!

We arrived at KAI Kinugawa with fairly high expectations, especially considering the price—around 100,000 yen per night. The hotel is situated in a pleasant area, but don’t expect much of a river view. Staff were friendly and welcoming, but most spoke very limited English, which made communication a bit challenging. Service overall felt below what you would expect from a resort at this price point. Our room was clean, well-maintained, and thoughtfully equipped with all the necessary amenities. The private open-air onsen was definitely a highlight and added a touch of luxury. That said, we were surprised (and slightly disappointed) that the minibar items weren’t complimentary. The communal onsen facilities were another strong point. The open-air bath was especially lovely, offering serene views of a lush garden with layers of greenery. The use of Dyson hair dryers was a nice, premium touch. One of the biggest letdowns, unfortunately, was the food. Based on other reviews, we were really looking forward to the meals. While the presentation was beautiful, the taste and overall quality didn’t live up to expectations—this was probably our biggest disappointment during the stay. Overall, KAI Kinugawa has its strengths, particularly the onsen experience, but it fell short in some key areas for the price. Still a peaceful and relaxing stay, but not quite the standout we had hoped for.

After my first stay at Kai Kirishima in June 2024, I had the pleasure of experiencing Kai Kinugawa in December 2024, and I was once again impressed by the distinctive Kai brand experience. Like other Kai resorts, Kai Kinugawa offers a peaceful retreat with a unique setting, blending modern design with nature. To reach the resort, we took a tram up to the hotel, which was a charming and scenic experience in itself. From the room, we enjoyed a beautiful view of the Kinugawa River, which added to the sense of tranquility throughout our stay. During our visit, we took a leisurely walk through the Kinugawa Onsen Fureai River and ventured along the Demon Steps to the station, making for a lovely and refreshing experience in the area. The scenery, especially in December, was serene and peaceful. One of the highlights of our stay was the onsen with snow falling. It was an incredible experience to relax in the hot spring while snowflakes gently fell around us—truly a magical and memorable moment. Overall, Kai Kinugawa provided a perfect winter getaway, offering both relaxation and beautiful nature. It was a great addition to my Kai experience and I would highly recommend it for anyone looking to enjoy a peaceful, scenic retreat.

Service with a Smile, But lost in translation I recently stayed at this hotel for two nights, and while there were several positive aspects, I feel it's important to address some areas that could use improvement. ### Service Overall, the service was commendable, with staff being very attentive and eager to help. However, I found that most of the employees had limited English proficiency. While some made an effort to listen and assist, others appeared quite overwhelmed when faced with language barriers, sometimes providing incorrect information. ### Dining Experience The dining options were accommodating to our dietary restrictions, as we requested vegetarian meals and dishes without pork. However, during our meals, the staff often only briefly introduced the dishes as "this is vegetarian" or "this one has no pork," without further explanation on how to enjoy them. Out of the four meals we had, two were handled in this manner, while the other two were served by staff members who had a better grasp of English and engaged in more pleasant conversations. ### Evening Activities Given that we visited in winter, the hotel offered limited evening activities, with the main event being a presentation on Yakizome pottery. This was predominantly conducted in Japanese. When the host realized we understood Japanese, they kindly provided an English description for us to read, which was a thoughtful gesture. ### Room Amenities I have a neck issue and inquired about the availability of lower-height down pillows. Unfortunately, the staff struggled to understand what I meant until I demonstrated by pulling out the down from inside a regular pillow. This communication gap could be improved to enhance guest comfort. ### Seating Arrangements During meals, I noticed that guests of the same nationality were often seated together, which seemed to be a deliberate choice by the staff. It felt as though there was a concern about differing dining etiquette between international guests and Japanese patrons, leading to a somewhat uncomfortable experience for us as foreigners. This practice could be reconsidered to foster a more inclusive atmosphere. ### Room Maintenance On our second day, we requested that the trash be emptied and some towels replaced. While we had used all the coffee and tea provided on the first day, we noticed that these items were not replenished after room cleaning. Although the front desk promptly supplied us with coffee and tea when we called, the lack of proactive maintenance in this regard was disappointing. ### Conclusion In summary, while my stay had its positive moments—especially the helpfulness of the staff—the language barrier, dining experiences, and some aspects of room maintenance left room for improvement. I hope that the hotel can take these feedback points into consideration to enhance the experience for future guests.