Okukinu Onsen Kaniyu

The rooms were clean and well kept, with reasonable amenities. Breakfast and dinner were also fantastic. There was the choice to order lunch for an added fee but I was quite satisfied with the amount served at breakfast. Worst case scenario they had cup ramen for sale in the gift shop. The location is amazing. I have been to this hot spring twice now, both times in winter, and it is such an incredible feeling to be relaxing in the hot spring waters while it's -10℃ outside. They have a pool available, as well, but it is only available during the summer. The surrounding area also seems like it'd be beautiful during any season. If you go during winter and plan on hiking, leave ample time to do the hike as it starts getting dark around 16:30 in December. If you are traveling from Tokyo, be sure to reserve tickets on the Limited Express Train because that service has become popular lately and is often completely full. The service was great, the owner and staff were all wonderful and we had a lovely time chatting with them. They even let us (two adults) play with the sleds and baked us from sweet potatoes on the fireplace (a traditional Japanese snack). I will definitely come back a third time and many more after that!

This onsen Ryokan is a mixed bag of good and not-so-good things. Let's clarify. First, the good points: 1-location is perfect if you're looking for something off the tracks. You need to leave your car in a parking lot and a bus will take you to your hotel. It takes about 20 minutes of bumpy roads. 2-onsen water quality is very decent. It has this peculiar and irresistible rotten eggs smell no one can resist. Plus you have different types of pools. There is even a free feet bath for hikers. 3- it's relatively cheap compared to the other facilities. But there are several reasons for that. 4-you can check in early at 13:00, which gives you a lot of time to enjoy the pools and even take a little hike around. 5-private bath can be reserved for you and your partner and they're included in the price. 6- baths are open H24. 7 - staff is friendly and you can meet friendly people. A local talked about his association which goal is to preserve local wildlife. Not so good points: 1- there's a lot of mess around the facility that really spoils the view: cables, hoses, piles of garbage etc. It's hard to take a nice picture when there's such a mess around you. I understand it's a secluded place and garbage processing is not easy but could they at least hide them? 2- they don't care about the environment maintenance: they could pull off the weeds, get rid of unwanted plants, plant hydrangea or beautiful trees, create a colourful environment but unfortunately, no one seems to have the slightest interest in improving the general view (or maybe they are understaffed). Even the rooms have no personality: no decorations, nothing to make you feel cozy: just walls and basic necessities. The corridors reminded me of a typical Japanese training center or facility. 3- cleaning: as some people already pointed out before, it's not always clean, so I hope you don't have a cobweb phobia. 4- The guest reception can be disappointing : we were given a different room than the one we reserved and they couldn't find a suitable alternative. They said this one was better. 5-pools are not cleaned properly and regularly: I had to grab a net and do the cleaning by myself: there were a lot of dead leaves and insects. 6- food is ok but not unforgettable. No meat was served. Only one cold fried fish. General impression: this facility lacks personality, maintenance and warmth. It has a good location and good assets but they are not used properly. If I could sum up the general feeling in one word, it would be "lazy". Still, this can be an alternative if you're on a budget. But If you can afford it, treat yourself with a beautiful onsen Ryokan that will give you Unforgettable memories. Therefore I would recommend it for the location and the general decent experience, as long as you are not bothered with the issues above. 3.5/5

My 2 days at Kaniyu were spent like this: Eat, hike, bathe, nap, read, eat, bathe, sleep. If that sounds like something you‘d enjoy, go here! Bang for buck ratio is great. The building is older and some things are a bit rusty, which adds to the charm in my opinion. I‘ve seen some reviews saying the food wasn‘t great, which I cannot confirm. I found it tasty, healthy and veried. There is a dish prepared with Onsen water for every meal, which is fun. Although it might not hold up to (at least twice as expensive) Onsen luxury resorts, you‘ll have the full Japanese Ryokan experience here. The hikes around here were amazing (I was there in summer). Kaniyu is beautifully nestled in a river valley that cuts through the mountains. The outdoor baths with a view of a waterfall are fantastic. Some information I wish I had had to make your stay easier: - This is cash only and the next ATM is at least 2h away. Before going up the mountain, pick up your room rate in cash + at least 20.000 Yen for extra purchases - The staff speaks some English and are very friendly! Don‘t hesitate to give them a call if you don‘t understand the reservation website. It will work out in English! - Lunch is not included, but you can buy some for reasonable prices (800-1000¥) or bring you own when going up the mountain. There is a fridge in your room. - It‘s in the middle of the mountains. There is gonna be bugs, spiders and other insects. I loved it and saw at least 5 different types of butterflies, but be aware. - You can go by city bus to Meteobuchi and be picked up there by a free shuttle bus (make sure to reserve it when booking, but it usuall runs anyway according to the city bus timetable). You can also walk around 2h up the mountain from Meteobuchi. There a two routes, one for the shuttle bus and one only accessible by foot. Second one is shorter and a lot more beautiful, highly recommend it! There is a don‘t enter sign because of falling branches and stones which is - as I was told - more of an „at your own risk“ warning. Like everywhere in Japan, the path is well secured in areas where rockslides would even be remotely possible. Several waterfalls and beautiful sights up the path, I saw a deer even. - Hiking further upstream from Kaniyu to the marshlands will tempt you, like it did me. The hike is very challenging and only for very experienced hikers with proper equipment. Prepare accordingly (unlike me).

Love the area and the outdoor public baths. The meals were good. My husband complained that there’s no meat but I like all the vegetarian dishes provided. Tasted very good. There’s a small fried fish and few sashimi slices. My husband rates the food to be 3/10 while I rate it 5/10 as I am amazed at how they make vegetarian dishes so well.They do not serve any fish for breakfast which is quite unlike other ryokan we had been to. They had more vegetables and an egg for breakfast. I liked it though.The ryokan had free shuttle service for pick up and drop off to coincide with the bus times, very convenient, responsible and timely.

A very authentic experience in Japan out in the nature. Its very secluded - which is the reason why you book such a hotel. It takes a bit of effort ro get there, but its totally worth to see.Thanks again. Arigato.

The cloudy milky blue water was what I love about this onsen and service was alright overall, but I wouldn't stay here again due to bad room quality (smell bad, even clothes stink after of smoke), bad food, and how place is not too clean (they really need to dust out down, too many spider webs and dead insects). The bus drivers to and from, and staff were friendly tho. There's 2 large & 1 small all outdoor mixed baths. These were actually my favorite so I went to them multiple times. My skin felt so rejuvenated and healed! No wonder there's so many old locals here. We were one of the youngest guests. There's also 1 outdoor women's only bath, a few private baths, & a few other small mixed baths. There's only 1 indoor shower with indoor bath that's gender separated. Basically there's a lot of baths here to try so I never got bored. I enjoy my bathing experience, just wish it's cleaner. Just glad I went when it's cold so didn't have to deal with live bugs. The place can be a bit confusing too since all the baths have different paths. This place is all out in the mountain too so took us 2 hours from Kinugawa Train Station. I'm glad we went during late Oct when it's colder because there was a ton of webs and dead spiders there. I have bug phobia but I managed to ignore it since I was that excited about the onsen. They don't do good job in cleaning at all it seems. I imagine it's bad in summer so I would only want to visit in winter. The food was not great, very disappointing. But I did like the udon for lunch. The room smelled heavily of smoke so my clothes smelled after which I didn't like. It's a smoke free room but I think the tatami mats are so old that the smell lingered. The bed and pillows were hard so not comfortable. I noticed many visitors only stayed for the day. We were one of the few who stayed. The cleanliness, room, and food was like 2/10 but onsen itself was 10/10. Next time I will only visit as a day trip. Overall I still enjoy it tho and would love to go again when it's snowing!

This onsen hotel was incredible. It’s off a forest road so you can’t drive to it on your own. They have a shuttle service that will pick you up from a nearby parking lot (you have to contact them to arrange this service) or if you drive on your own, you can leave your car in the parking lot, and it’s a 1-2 two hour hike up the forest road to the hotel. They have a variety of outdoor pools that have varying temperatures. The meal plan was fantastic and my dinner and breakfast were delicious. The staff was friendly, the rooms were clean, and it was quiet, so you can rest and relax.

This was a wonderful experience. The onsen was very good, with a nice lukewarm pool for the kids to enjoy and with several different onsen baths. I specially enjoyed the milky water of the mixed-baths. While there were many costumers, the baths were not crowded. You are expected to wrap in a towel when using the mixed baths.