Yōyōkaku

Probably the best Ryokan we have done so far. The place is a mix of old and newer buildings, integrated around a lovely and fairly vast Japanese garden. We had a room overlooking the garden and the pound, which was spacious and well equipped with amenities, our own toilet and bathroom. The place is big and has several rooms for Japanese breakfast. They are also exhibiting local ceramics that we did not have time to check out unfortunately. Service is spotless. They help you park your car in the few spots they have in the street. To top it off the owner of the place gently invited us for tea at his place he built at the end of the garden. I must say he and his wife have a perfect view over the property from their living room. Picture perfect. Lovely hosts. Price was amazingly reasonable for such high standards and including breakfast, especially during golden week. Highly recommended. Book early.

We stayed for 2 nights and enjoyed the traditional style of a ryokan. Women power and courteous staffs makes our stay a memorable one.|In house dining experience was fabulous, varieties of Japanese ryori. Kaiseki was also good|The ryokan has a history and the layout and gardens were pleasantly designed.|It’s also walking distance to the Castle

Great service, food and beautiful garden. We’re lucky to be invited by the owner of the hotel, Mr. Okouchi, to visit his place. Although he is over 90 years old, he is still very willing to share us his experience of running the hotel for last several decades. He also showed some precious photos of many western guests he had treated in mid 20 century. The trip really change my understanding of Karatsu. I Highly recommend this place if you have the plan to visit Karatsu or Kyushu.

Yoyokaku is an absolute gem. I loved my stay at this special inn. The rooms are lovely, the food is excellent, but it is truly the staff that make this inn special. The owners made me feel so welcome, and the staff were so genuinely friendly and warm. I rarely say this, but I truly felt at home. The rooms also have comfortable chairs with a view of the lovely garden if you tire of sitting on the floor. I loved the galleries filled with pottery from the Nakazato family and arranged a taxi to visit a couple of their studios in the mountains near Karatsu one afternoon to make some additional purchases. Importantly for me, there was also self serve coffee available in lobby in the early morning, which made for a very nice start to my day. Everything was so relaxed, comfortable and perfect for me at Yoyokaku. A very special, lovely inn.

Was the best stay of my Kyushu trip! The people are so warm and friendly and displayed the highest levels of hospitality I’ve experienced in awhile. The rooms were comfortable and beautifully decorated, and the public bath and breakfast were both great. Thank you for this great experience! Highly recommend this ryokan :)

A heritage traditional ryokan nestled in a quiet area walking distance to the Karatsu castle. The Japanese garden and the layout of the ryokan creates an atmosphere of tranquility. The meals are exquisite in both display and taste. Service - women power when we were there & very gracious even though they speak little English. I was touched by the ushering and sending off of the guests where the owners personally see you (courteous & humble) Spacious seating areas overlooking the Japanese gardens Simple Onsen setting, nothing fancy than letting the guests enjoyed a good hot spring

The ryokan is historical (100 year old building) and stunning, the garden is so beautiful, so is the corridor with the view of the garden. The room was also luxurious and beautiful, I spent really nice quiet moments in there, sipping tea and looking out into the garden. The dinner and breakfast was great, the rice was so delicious and glistening- the staff told me its rice from Karatsu. The people were really friendly- right from the start through the email communication to everyone in the ryokan who spoke to me, it made the stay so enjoyable. Lastly, they also have 3 art galleries of works by famous pottery artists, and I brought home some. Arigato for such a wonderful stay, I look forward to staying again!

Amazing first stay at Yoyokaku. The property is old but very well maintained. The staff are so helpful and very friendly. The garden, even in winter, is so beautiful and serene. The room is very clean and very comfortable. The inn is decorated elegantly and ages very well. The reading room, dining room, galleries are all simply and tastefully done. One small suggestion is to increase the water pressure in the bathroom as it is quite weak. Other than that it was one of the best stays in Japan for me. Thank you so much for the hospitality and we look forward to coming back.

This Ryokan is great! The service, onsen, and food was all top notch. You eat dinner in your room, and they served us about 12 courses! Then they make up your beds for the night (you sleep on the floor) which only takes a few minutes since they are really efficient. When we came back from touring the city for the day they made us tea in our room. For breakfast you had the choice of Japanese style or American. Since we had breakfast two mornings we got to try both. They both were great. Other highlights include the garden you can walk around, free bikes to use, and the rooms with pottery on display.

I have stayed in Yoyokaku for 4 days in last week. It was an unforgettable experience. The services, the room décor, the friendly of employee, all top notch. If you want to enjoy real Japanese culture and hospitality, this is the place you need to be.