山みず季 URARA つたや

Good location right across from the train station. Small quaint ryokan run by a nice couple. We did not understand 100% what a ryokan entails so it was an interesting experience. Dinner is at 6 and breakfast is at 8. You get a set meal and you need to show up for meals dressed in the gowns that they provide.   Most of it is delicious but some of it may be too adventurous for certain people. There’s plenty of food and many courses served at dinner, so you can find enough to eat. The small onsen is ok with a nice view of the mountains. Our room also had a nice view. I thought that when we booked it for 4 people, we would get a bigger room. However, I realized upon arrival that it was the same as a room for 2 people.  The living area is the same as the sleeping area and they just converted it by laying out sleeping mats while we were at dinner. There was barely enough room to open our luggage and we had to step on the sleeping areas to get across the room. I should have just booked 2 rooms and it would have cost the same.

The property is located just opposite the train station. We arrived at 9:30 am, did the check-in procedure, and then left luggage there so that we were luggage-free when we went on hiking on one of the section of the Nakasendo. We did not have to explain, the host simply accepted our luggage gracefully. The breakfast and dinner were delicious. The host and staff were very polite and helpful. Some of the staff spoke very good English and explained to us the different types of sauces for each dish. I think the facilities could be made better with some simple adjustments. The room was a bit small, we knew that when we made booking. However, I think the room could be more roomly if not so many furnitures were put in the room. The public bath room was small. If someone is having a shower, the water could easily splash into the bath water and persons sitting in the bath. I suggest the host to change the male and female baths into 2 private baths, allowing prior booking each time for 40 min. Booking can easily be done by self-service. With these minor adjustments, the stay could be more enjoyable.

When we arrived at the hotel we were too early to check in and the doors were firmly closed. It was a hot day so I went to tourism info office next door. They were so helpful as how we could fill a couple of hours and persuaded our hosts to open the doors and look after our back packs.|The hotel is perfectly situated as a Base for doing the Nakasendo highway. Again top marks to the info office next door who provided a detailed timetable specifically for the walk. Made logistics very easy.|The Onsen in the room was marvellous after a tough day's walking.|The staff at the hotel were delightful and the food was the best we have had in 2 weeks in Japan. Perfect

Welcoming ryokan in the Kiso area. Nice room, clean.|Good food for dinner, one morning we were offered an excellent western breakfast, so was excited for the next morning but sadly it had changed to a Japanese breakfast probably because the other guests were Japanese. We had been in Japan for a while and was a bit tired of the food !....|Towels are bit thin but they dry quickly. Dont provide towels for the onsen it seems.|Lovely staff, very welcoming and caring.

We stayed here on our Nakasendo hike. Urara was the highlight of our accommodations. Our room was modern/traditional ryokan style. The dinner was amazing. The chef’s attention to detail was fabulous, flavours wonderful and presentation perfect. I would highly recommend this place.

The stay was great in many ways, except there was one fatal problem -- the onsen (public hot bath) was broken.||The room was great. We know what a room with Japanese futons means, so it perfectly met our expectations. The food was great. In the dinner, the beef main course was perfectly executed, and the "salmon wellington" was a delightful surprise. The breakfast was full of Japanese small dishes too. The portion size was pretty good too. While I can't say all ingredients were ultra premium, it was very reasonable.||But the onsen was broken, and I think it was fatal. I think it is fair to say the onsen is the single biggest reason for staying in a onsen ryokan. When it is broken, they really has the obligation to compensate profoundly, in my opinion. But they didn't.||They did not send me an email to proactively notify me about the situation. They only tell me so when I actually arrived for check-in, even so, they just said "although the hot bath is broken, the shower in your room is ok". But hey, of course I wanted to use the onsen in an onsen ryokan! Their attitude was like they just shrugged their shoulders. No compensation whatsoever. And the verbal notification at checkin was all they "offered". There were no apologies whatsoever afterwards throughout our stay. They even dare to continue charging me the Onsan Tax (JPY 150 per adult) even there were no onsen!||Two staff members were a middle-aged couple, which I believe are the boss and wife of the probably family-owned onsen ryokan. They were there thoughtout our stay, from checkin, to meals, to checkout. I did not argue about the broken onsen, figured I needed a stay anyway, and arguing wouldn't be of any use anyway. It was the woman who checked me out, and there were no sorry on her face when she dared to charge me the onsen tax.||Oh by the way, I said the couple were there all the time, right? I really had a feeling of us being watched.||One more thing. We went for sightseeing after checkout, so needed to store our bags. When we returned, we found our bags just placed in the lobby, they were not locked whatsoever, and there were no staff. Anyone could have just taken our bags away! We just took our bags and left, no one noticed.||Everything above points to one thing. While the service was "nicely executed", in their hearts all they wanted was just getting the business completed. They wanted our money, and that's it. They otherwise had no interest in meeting our needs. This is still true when they couldn't even deliver the onsen!||The room rate (with 2 meals) was not cheap. The town Kiso-Fukushima is a small town, and there are few options along the Kiso Valley or Nakasendo, unless we head all the way back to the big cities of Nagoya or Matsumoto. We chose to stay there only because we wanted to spend a few days for a more in-depth experience of a Nakasendo-themed trip, including an onsen, like a traveller in the past. We didn't mind the price, but they ought to deliver! An onsen ryokan without an onsen, even if it was "just" "temporarily" broken, is unforgivable. I know things happens, but I think it is fair to say they must compensate profoundly, which they certainly didn't. It was never in their mind, they just wanted our business.||This alone already worth them a 1-star. I'm giving it 2-stars only because they otherwise delivered other elements of an onsen ryokan, but even so, it was only at the execution level. I otherwise question their service attitude.

this is literally opposite the Kiso Fukushima train station. an old building coverted to a upscale ryokan. when you book for your stay , you will also enjoy their sumptuous kaiseki dinner and breakfast .

We stayed for two nights as part of our Honeymoon to Japan. The staff at Urara were fantastic, super friendly and helpful. The food was amazing!! With a Japanese meal consisting of 8 courses every evening that was out of this world. The staff were on hand to provide a few pointers on how to enjoy the meal. Breakfast was European with a slight Japanese theme. Perfect stay