Oyado Iseya

The Iseya is a welcoming and authentic experience. Conveniently located right on the Nakasendo Trail. We hiked in and out. The food is delicious, very clean and spacious, a beautiful courtyard garden. Such gracious hosts, thank you for your hospitality.

Brilliant rooms, people, food, and service. We hiked in during a downpour and arrived soaking wet. They gave us towels, took our sodden jackets and shoes to their drying room and got us our rooms quickly. Dinner was awesome, as were mattresses and futons.

This place deserves all the very positive reviews it has had. Even though there was only one Japanese person staying there the night we stayed (my husband!), it is full on authentic Japanese from the food to the rooms and bedding to the bath. The only concession they make to foreigners is that guests can have private baths, i.e. they are large and lovely, but you don’t need to share them with other guests unless you want to! They also served salmon rather than raw fish with dinner and seemed to be willing to cater for pescatarian and vegetarian eaters.

The most beautiful place we stayed in our trip! This town is so charming, was great to be able to walk before and after the crowds. Dinner and breakfast were extraordinarily. And the private onsen bath was a great treat. Lovely experience, we enjoyed every minute of it!

Excellent service, amazing onsens. Clean shared bathrooms. Tasty meals with TONS of food. Right in the heart of Narai.

Most outstanding hotel experience of my life so far. Ridiculously good food, stunning location in probably one of the most beautiful towns Ive ever seen. The owners were very caring, made sure that were having the nicest time possible. I highly recommend this place to everyone whos looking for a place to stay around this location, especially if you love hiking, stunning views and having a very "authentic experience"

This Ryokan on the Old Nakasendo trail was built in 1818, when the Nakasendo was at its peak. Narai-juku is the largest and best preserved Post Town, and stepping into Narai-juku having traversed the Torii pass, it felt like stepping back in time. Narai-juku marks the mid-point between Tokyo and Kyoto and was a very popular resting point before or after the Torii pass, hence Narai-juku's size and number of Ryokans. I would very much like to thank Iseda-san and his wife for opening up their family home, so that guests can spend the night just as the travellers did hundreds of years ago during the Edo period. It also marked the end of my 3 day hike along the Nakasendo, and a worthy Ryokan to end my journey. I did indeed spend the day, night and morning resting. It is very quiet in the evenings and in the mornings, that is when Narai is at its most beautiful and serine. Walking around in the evening, alone was stunning. You really feel like you have travelled hundreds of years back into the past. It was absolutely beautiful. Dinner was a spectacular 14-course Kaiseki meal, every complement was home cooked using seasonal ingredients from the local area. They are all small dishes but together will satiate even the biggest appetite. Breakfast was a 10-course meal. Usually I'm not a huge fan of Ryokan breakfasts because they can be too much, and I don't tend to eat breakfast. This meal was just right in terms of volume and was very delicious. The only downside is all facilities are shared, toilets and bathrooms are outside your room. There can be a wait to use the hot bath, but once in it's very modern and very relaxing. I would highly recommend Oyado Iseya if you are planning to stay in Narai-juku.

Great location, comfortable room, stand out shower and bath, good dinner and breakfast. Right in the middle of the Main Street of Narai. Definitely recommend staying at Iseya. Very comfortable stay, good location for stopping on our Nakasendo walk.