Remember my trip to Hakone Shrine with my friends? The day before we went to the shrine, we stayed at this amazing and affordable ryokan in Hakone, Japan. Hakone is a few hours ride from Tokyo, in the nearby Kanawaga-ken, and is famous for its black eggs, Lake Ashi, Hakone Shrine and its onsen!
So what's a Ryokan?
A Ryokan (旅館) is Japanese style inn[1] and usually costs much compared to hostels. In a ryokan, you'll be sleeping on a futon (布団) in a Japanese style room, that is with tatami mats (畳). In contrast, in hotels, you're sleeping on a bed in a western style room.
The name of this ryokan is Hotel Musashiya, and is found in the heart of Moto-Hakone. Unfortunately Mount Fuji cannot be seen from this ryokan but I heard just a few minutes walk, there's a place with great views of Mount Fuji. It was cloudy when we went there so no Mount Fuji views for us. We paid 41,400 yen for 3 people for a night in 1 room. Expensive? Well, it's the best deal we got during Golden Week where prices are at their peak.
Tip: Prices for hotels will greatly increase during Golden Week. Since it's GW, it's best to book your accommodation beforehand or else, you'll sleep nowhere because all are fully booked or end up at extravagant hotels.
So what's so great about this ryokan?
1. Convenient Location
Located in the heart of Moto-Hakone, travelers staying at this ryokan can take a stroll around the boat pier and go shopping at nearby souvenir shops. Hakone Shrine is just a walking distance so it's very convenient.
2. Delicious Food
Some ryokans don't really offer half-board (in japanese: 一泊二食付き) so you need to look for your own food. Half-board means dinner and breakfast the next day are included in the accommodation. We're lucky this ryokan got the best food and the staff were so accommodating. Dinner was served at our room by a Nakai (中居, attendant), while breakfast was served at the dining hall where we joined other people who checked in that time. Each room has a Nakai so you'll really feel like a princess. Hehe Not to mention, you can request more rice. LOL
3. Two Onsen
Of course, a ryokan won't be complete without an onsen (温泉) or a public hot spring bath. Since it's an onsen, expect that you will be completely naked. Japanese people are so used to this already so they won't really care about you. Just pretend not to be awkward so you won't make a scene. Works every time! 😅
This ryokan has both indoor and open air onsen, and they are separated by gender. The open air onsen wasn't so good when we bathed there. Because it was so windy, every time I got up, I would be shivering a lot. But actually it's really good. Their onsen is located on the top floor of the building and has good views of Lake Ashi so I was enjoying the bath and the view outside.
I didn't take photos of their onsen so just imagine it. 😉
Sadly, they don't have private onsen so for people with tattoos, they might not allow you. To be sure, you can contact them.
4. Typical Ryokan Amenities
They have table tennis and karaoke rooms for rent. Usually ryokan have areas for table tennis so after a refreshing bath, you can get competitive (and sweat again, LOL). At the ground floor, there's a souvenir shop and a sofa where you can mingle with other people (and use their wifi 😅).
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5. Clean and Spacious Room
Japanese style rooms! There's just something about Tatami (畳) that I love but can't really pinpoint as to what it is. Besides the room amenities that every hotel offers, Hotel Musashiya also provided us with Yukata (浴衣) and magnificent views of Lake Ashi from our room's window. My sleep on the futon (布団) was comfortable after the onsen.
I was about to post a photo of me wearing yukata but nevermind. 😂
6. Accommodating Staff
From the time we arrived til check out, all the staff were so welcoming and accommodating. Service is really so good in this ryokan. Can't explain it all in words, so you gotta experience it yourself. 😅
Things Hotel Musashiya can improve
I don't really have that much of a complain because of all the positive things I mentioned above. But I think they can improve on improving the wifi connection to reach the rooms upstairs. The free wifi is only available in the ground floor where there are sofas. Some people (like me) don't really want to go out their room.
Lastly, I hope they install bidet in the toilet. I understand it's a Japanese style inn but some ryokans already have bidets installed in their rooms' toilet. Innovation please, if possible. Hehe
While it is true that ryokans are expensive, I think it's better to at least experience it if you're planning to have a vacation in Japan. If you're so good at looking around, you'll find affordable and decent ryokans. Not a bad ryokan experience for my first time! Now, I'll be sure to stay in ryokans for my next travels. Hopefully, I have money to be able to pay for it. 😅
How about you? Have you experienced the Japanese hospitality at a ryokan? Please share with us your experience!
If you want to book a room in Hotel Musashiya, please contact them in the information below. You can also find them in Booking.com.
ホテルむさしや (Hotel Musashiya)
神奈川県足柄下郡箱根町元箱根20
Contact number: 0460-83-6348
Thank you for reading!
See you around! またね！
Credits:
[1] Source: Ryokan - Wikipedia
All photos are taken using my phone unless stated otherwise. Not an ad.