Name: Yamamizuki Urara Tsutaya
Address: 2012-4 Fukushima, Kiso, Kiso, Kiso, 397-0001, Japan
Rating: 9

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Smoke-free property

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Matsumoto Airport

Yamamizuki Urara Tsutaya

Kiso

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We felt very welcome here.  A very genuine Ryokan experience, everything I had hoped for.  The food presentation was amazing, it was a great opportunity to try out a variety of dishes and they accommodated my daughter's 'no meat' diet with ease.

A warm welcome

This ryokan is absolutely spectacular. It’s a small establishment with an incredible attention to detail. 
The tatami rooms are both comfortable and traditional. The staff changes seamlessly from day to night furniture while you are having the most incredible dinner or breakfast.
The food is something else: gourmet with passion. What an experience.
Kiso is a great base to explore the valley and its routes. It is delightfully void of noise and luxury shops. The ryokan is directly in front of the train station and we just had a fantastic time. Probably the best memories of the whole trip.

Best memories of Japan

We got there after a tough day’s hike on Nakasendo. Arrived earlier than expected but no problem with checking us in early. Very nice owners and staff members.  Room was big and charming, with nice details eg dressing table. The public bath is nice and tidily kept. Loved the massage chair outside the bath area. Dinner (kaiseki) was amazing, great selection of sake, breakfast (Japanese) was even more plentiful. Not many rooms, so had a nice personal touch to things, not a massive operation. Small onsen ryokan,  but super charming and perfectly formed. Would definitely return.

Charming ryokan with wonderful room and excellent food

We stayed one night while walking the Nakasendo Trail. Located across the road from the train station and close to a convenience store. Most rooms have shared bathroom facilities; we took a larger room with an ensuite bathroom.  Lots of space, comfortable futons and efficient wifi. There are gender segregated onsens on-site, these are of the smaller size. Staff were very friendly and accommodating. The highlight was dinner, which was simply outstanding and equal to a top city restaurant. And breakfast was pretty good too. Highly recommended.  


Excellent modernised ryokan 

We asked for an authentic Ryokan experience and I’m pretty sure that’s what we got.
Kiso doesn’t have a lot going for it ( needs to be borne in mind it hammered with rain for the whole of our 48 hr stay!) but this property is a jewel.
Located across the road from station and also next door to a small supermarket and tourist information office.
Owners and staff could not be more helpful, not much English spoken, but enough.
Room was initially a shock but staff turn the living area into sleeping area whilst dinner is being served , and then back again in morning.
Bath on ( optional) open air terrace looks rustic but is high tech ( like toilets) self filling and kept at a constant heat.
Same could be said of room , traditional tatami matting & futon , but also wi fi ,fridge , tv, coffee machine .
Room is small so we were glad when we transferred luggage on first morning for next stay.
Traditional clothes are provided and you can dress for dinner and breakfast , it is not compulsory but nice to do so , The food is magnificent around 12-15 small courses at each meal all beautifully presented and carefully served ( not much by way of translation but all seemed lovely) .
Drinks are also available at extra cost at dinner.
Meals at set times : dinner at 6 , breakfast at 7;30 or 8.
On day 2 you can choose between American or Japanese breakfast, we had no hesitation in choosing Japanese.
Shoes have to left outside at all times.In a cupboard, they are then laid out for you in morning.

It is handy for the station , some people did much more adventurous hikes to Magome and Tsumago but this involved military precision transport planning that was beyond us, so on a very wet day we went by train to Narai , a nice old post town , that was sufficient.
This is a beautiful property that is definitely 5 star , the locality was perhaps not for us but no hesitation in recommending the Ryokan.

Remote but wonderful 

My husbandand I, and our son and his wife had a lovely stay here in January, to accommodate us while we hiked a small preserved section of the Nakasendo Way. It was our first stay in a ryokan and it was delightful surprise. We stayed two nights, our rooms had a nice view overlooking the valley, and had private baths on our balconies. The food was an adventure, delicious and beautifully presented, so many small and precious dishes, brought out one after another, by the gracious host. The hosts were very gracious and took excellent care of their guests, and we enjoyed our visit very much.

A lovely winter stay in this Kiso valley ryokan, a great place to stay if you wish to hike the Nakasendo way.

The hosts could not have been more helpful, despite our inability  to speak much Japanese.  En-suite private onsen was great, and the rooms comfortable in traditional Japanese style. Meals were amazing- again traditional Japanese cuisine; many small delicious portions all served with a smile and an explanation of ‘ what it was and how to eat it’ in English. Truly excellent dinner and breakfast.  Highly recommended, and straight across the road from the local train station ( but not noisy at all).

Great hospitality, excellent Japanese cuisine

This is a great place to stay because:
  - It is right across the road from the train station (and don't worry, it is quiet because the trains don't run overnight)
  - The food is amazing (but don't expect anything western, you are in a ryokan in Japan  after all)
  - There is a tourist information office next door where some English is spoken
  - And it's a great base to explore other postal towns up and down the train line (we did three towns in one day - Narai, Tsumago and Magome - but it does require you to be organised in terms of bus and train timetables).

Word of warning - You should know that most ryokans in this area DO NOT take credit cards, so you will need to pay IN CASH, which, for foreign travellers is almost impossible. So consider using an online booking website and paying with credit card BEFORE you travel and save yourself a whole lot of stress. We didn't know this before we got to the ryokan. We thought we would save the property paying commission by electing to pay at the ryokan but instead we created a whole lot of stress for ourselves and wasted time trying to organise cash.

Room sizes - Due to the fact the ryokan was already nearly fully booked, we splurged and booked a bigger room (Japanese style), so I can't say what the smaller rooms are like. However, no matter where you stay in Japan, you will encounter small rooms. So you need to be aware of room dimensions and book accordingly, factoring in the number of suitcases you are travelling with and how much space you need to feel comfortable. (Think about your own bedroom at home and don't forget to add on a bathroom; hotel rooms include the bathroom when they express their sizes in square feet/square metres.)

Not much English spoken - Although we were lucky and found a staff member who spoke some English, the proprietors do not. So you will need a translation app to assist. Please note, one of the proprietors has a tendancy to say "no" to everything you ask about but other staff will say "yes" if you find someone to help you.

Things to consider #2

Staff were great, especially Yoko as she spoke English and was able to help with requests. One source of stress was having to pay in cash if you elect to pay at the accommodation. This should be made clear when booking. We would have happily paid by credit card in advance had it been made clear. No one from overseas carries that kind of cash. The ryokan should be encouraged to adjust their "rule" and take credit cards.

There are a few Ryokan with Tsutaya in the name.  It was difficult to make a reservation by phone due to language barrier. Their email is urara.tutaya@gmail.com
We found this hotel to be very expensive for what it is and that is due to supply and demand for hotels in this area. 
We love travel in Japan, and have an understanding of the culture, food and customs. However this hotel is so strict on their rules it was at times unpleasant. 
We also agreed on a price that they offered by email for our specific dates which they then increased by hundreds of dollars which they said was  due to Fall season. We accepted this price increase but feel this is unusual and non professional. 
The area around this hotel is beautiful and a wonderful walking experience. We used this hotel as our base to explore other towns rather than pack up each night. My advice however is that it would have been better in this area to move from town to town each night and experience a different hotel. One night here was enough. 
Food is fancy but repetitive and service rushed. Breakfast is elaborate and Japanese without a western option so it’s 19 small serves of fish and soup. I found it difficult to attempt to eat this at 7 in the morning and all other hotels on our trip understood Westerners may prefer a Western breakfast. 
We paid extra for a room with a bath but could not use it as they ran out of hot water. Hotel Onsen is small with no view and basic. 
Yes this is an authentic experience but it was  our least enjoyable for us as we preferred the warmth and more welcoming and relaxed atmosphere of our other lovely hotel options at half the price. 
I suggest only one night here and try to book other hotels along your walk. The tourism for these towns have a service that transfers your luggage for you at about $5 a bag. The tourist office is extremely helpful and next door to the hotel. They will help with any walking or hotel advice and send you area maps to you in advance.
I would only book here if no other options available.

Yamamizuki Urara Tsutaya

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