Fierydormouse
Google
We have just spent 2 nights at the Ryokan Kato and I can honestly say, hand on heart, it is one of the best places I have ever stayed. ||We arrived late afternoon, having caught the cable car up the mountain after getting off the train at Yoshino. We were delighted to see our names written up outside the ryokan, so we knew we were in the right place! We were then welcomed with tea and local sweets before being shown to our room. This was really spacious and extremely comfortable, with lovely mountain views. As is usually the case with ryokans, we didn't have our own bathroom, but we did have a sink in the room. The futons were extremely comfortable and I really liked the pillows (which were filled with buckwheat husks, I believe). The baths (onsen) were gorgeous, spotlessly clean and the outdoor area was articularly lovely at night, looking up at the stars while soaking in the tub. ||The food was amazing, I can't really come up with enough superlatives to describe it! I have never had food like it and I'm not going to lie, to Western eyes some of it was bit unusual (but beautiful!) but we were game for trying everything and we were well rewarded for doing so - it was all delicious. The multi course japanese traditional dinner in particular was stunning, the dishes just kept on coming...! The breakfasts were excellent, too, and we loved the breakfast area with the view over the mountains. We had the Japanese breakfast one morning and the Western one the other morning - both really set us up for the day. ||I loved the whole ryokan experience, from slipping into my yukata to the wonderful Japanese food to the relaxing outdoor bath (Honestly, I thought I'd be a bit freaked out by communal bathing, but really it's no big deal!)||On the final morning, it was chucking down with rain and the hostess of the ryokan actually insisted on driving us back down the hill to the station herself, rather than letting us walk back to the ropeway in the rain. She was so kind, and was absolutely lovely with our little boy. ||We would love to come back to this ryokan one day and will certainly be recommending it to our friends. Yoshino is a beautiful place to visit and we are so glad we added it to our itinerary.||If you want to know what real hospitality is like, stay here! Thank you to all the staff for a wonderful weekend.