Taishoya

This was a wonderful stay and the Japanese-styled room was comfortable for three of us. We loved the traditional welcome of helpful friendliness informing us that we should catch the shuttle bus to the mountain onsen in time to make it down for dinner. Lovely! I am always concerned about inconveniencing the chef with my gluten-free food needs. It took some pre-communication and effort, but I really wanted my friends to experience the traditional kaiseki experience which is difficult (not possible) to provide as gluten-free in many ryokan. The staff and chef were able to provide kaiseki to my friends and for me a non-traditional meal which was exceptionally wonderful! I am forever thankful for their care and effort in making the meals and onsen a wonderful experience. There are several onsen choices. In the morning, my friends went to the larger one which they said felt like being in a forest, and I went to the smaller lower-level one with pond, Koi and waterfall. The evening mountain onsen was truly a treat and I only wish I knew in advance to allow more time, but we were able to do a nice soak before dinner. This was one of the best ryokan experiences I have had and I would certainly return. My Japanese friends agreed. We didn't see much of the town, but we would go back for that as well since it looked like an interesting stroll. Many other nearby attractions from important shrines, tea fields, and lovely pottery kiln town of Hasami to the Arita porcelain towns and museums as well. Top experience!

Wow. This place features the most attentive and positive staff in Japan! They did all they could to attend to our needs, including preparing a completely unique meal for my partner to ensure he had the best dining experience possible for his culinary tastes. A member of staff who spoke fluent English was assigned to us, and she was always there ready to help out. The room itself was outstanding. The tatami room looked out onto a garden, with delicate mosses, ferns and stepping stones across a sweet little stream. All set against towering cypress trees. Everything was so beautiful. There was a fridge in the room, fresh ikebana display, large b beautiful bath and shower fed by onsen water. The most special thing about this hotel is it's onsen. The public bath is great, very large and with bright, natural light. However it's the onsen that is reserved for guests that steals the show (taki no yu). With the best view, coi carp dancing at the foot of waterfalls, pink flowering camelia framing a stone lantern, small shrubs and great lighting. The sauna is cypress wood, and you can smell it as soon as you get inside. The large view from the sauna is sublime. The temperature is set at a steady 55° and you can enter a plunge pool of cold water when you're done. You may even experience 'totonou', which is what the Japanese call the state of transcendence that comes from hot-cold therapy! Visit Taishoya and experience the beautiful, happy town of Ureshino. Eat yudofu with rice, saga beef and delicious fish. You won't be disappointed!

BEST. ONSEN. WATER. EVER. Felt like I was showering with SKII serum. Service was fantastic. They came out to greet us and helped us with bags and parking. Not only that, we left a small item behind and they helped us to ship it to Osaka before we left. Very very customer centric. Food was good. Love the garden next to the restaurant.

Very nice ryokan. In addition to the two indoor public baths, there was a shuttle bus to an outdoor onsen 10 minutes away that was just fantastic, in the woods and on a small river. The room was very nice, the dinner was a fantastic kaiseki and also the breakfast was excellent.

The most relaxing experience I've had. Everything was excellent, the staff were fantastic, the baths were relaxing and clean, the food was exceptional and elaborate with local ingredients being the focus and the room was large and relaxing.