Guesthouse Hakone Nennekoya

The room was nice, the guesthouse cute, the breakfast delicious. An above average Japanese guesthouse experience, until you factor in the hostess, Lena. She catapults the rating past 5 stars. Truly gracious, very friendly, helpful, funny, and kind. I was visiting my daughter in Japan with my mother, and mom was becoming overwhelmed ... until she talked with Lena. Now mom wants to return to Japan, I think just to stay with Lena again. Such a wonderful experience. I usually try not to make repeat visits to the same area so that I can see more of a country, but now I will make an exception. I am sure that on all my future visits, I will somehow factor in a visit to Hakone to this guesthouse. Please note - there is a review that I posted on Booking.com concerning room mix-ups. It is for the hotel we stayed in the following night - this would never have happened here, or Lena would have taken care of it immediately if it had. I am trying to get it removed and assigned to the correct hotel (in Yokohama). Please DISREGARD a review from me (Cynthia) discussing room problems if you are considering Guesthouse Nennekoya. You will not be disappointed in your experience here.