Name: Gyokusui since2008
Address: Naramoto 39-1, Higashiizu, Higashiizu, Higashiizu, 413-0302, Japan
Rating: 9

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Gyokusui since2008

Higashiizu

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Really want to give this a 2 out of 5 rating but will give it a 3 to be nice. This is a beautiful property perched high up on top of a hill in Izu Atagawa. The ryokan is spotless, serene and grand, adopting a shoes-off policy at the entrance. It offers private bookings for a very charming (but small) outdoor onsen overlooking a bamboo forest. Private bookings are limited to once per day. There were also some very nice personal touches such as allowing their female guests to select a new yukata every day from their colourful collection. 

Having said that, service was quite poor. You can sense that some of the staff harbour anti-foreign/Chinese/Asian sentiment and that their greetings/smiles/patience are somewhat forced. I speak native English but still felt uneasy with how they reacted to some of our requests. Firstly, they only have ONE person on site that speaks English. Although I was travelling with my parents that speak Japanese, communicating our requests still proved to be quite difficult. I constantly felt that I had to put up a fight or struggle in order for them to accommodate our reasonable requests. 

The ryokan is a 10 minute drive from the nearest train station and offers a very RIGID transfer service. They only advertise a few morning times in their brochure being 10am, 10:40am, 11am. The Ryokan we stayed at last year in Izu Inatori accommodate special pick-up requests, which I felt were very much needed for Gyokosui. They did so in the end for my elderly Father after much negotiation and explanation but were generally very RIGID with the times on offer. We didn’t see a single taxi that day we were out in town and were told that we would have to call a taxi to get back. When we asked how much it would cost to get down to the station, we were told it could cost up to 2000 yen. I certainly did not want to spend 4000 yen to get down the hill and back in a day. With no other choice after returning to Atagawa Station at the end of the day, we took a cab that ended up costing only 1000 yen. It was quite disappointing to discover that the Ryokan couldn’t even get this basic information correct. 

When we were trying to make a paid telephone call with Skype to make a restaurant reservation in Osaka (as the English speaking lady initially said it would be inconvenient for us to use their office phone), we realised that the WIFI no longer worked and asked the hotel staff for help. She ended up lending us the hotel phone at that point. The English speaking lady was also really irritated when I told her the WIFI doesn’t work and asked me not to make things even more complicated. I was shocked with her rude and blunt response as I was merely asking if they could help look into the WIFI. She then disappeared for obvious reasons because she didn’t want to deal with us anymore. Therefore, we went to the reception to talk to the Japanese staff who basically told us: Oh too bad that it doesn’t work for you because it works on their phones. I then told them it was working perfectly yesterday and only stopped working up until now. They just said ‘sorry’ and couldn’t care less.

I later realised, upon returning to my room, that WIFI was only available in my room and not in the lobby/reception area where we were trying to make our phone call. They could have told us when we asked for help with our WIFI (in Japanese too since my mom is a Japanese speaker but they didn’t bother). 

All in all, it was a disappointing stay with so much wasted potential as the property is stunning and well-kept. The food was however extremely average and really boring compared to Hamanoyu where we stayed last year at their stunning new Kanon suite with balcony and private outdoor onsen right by the sea.  In fact, we only decided to return to Izu again after our visit last year because we were so impressed with our experience at Hamanoyu’s Kanon suite (with its in-room dining and impeccable service). This will therefore be our last visit to Izu as Gyokusui was very much disappointing. We also travelled all the way here from Kyoto (3 HOURS PLUS), which makes it all the more disappointing and a waste of about 32,000 yen per person for the Shinkansen round trip on the green car. 

Foreigners, be it Asian , Caucasian, Chinese, Korean, you name it, should think thrice before staying at Gyokusui. It’s more of a ryokan for local Japanese tourists, which is probably why this is only the second review in English on trip advisor. They clearly lack experience when it comes to dealing with FOREIGN tourists and their needs. It’s a shame that Japan, a country well known for its hospitality, is becoming more xenophobic by the day.

Beautiful Property but disappointing experience for non-Japanese guests

This ryokan is located in Higashiizu 東伊豆, at the famous Atagawa Onsen 熱川温泉, inside the hills and enjoying a quiet and peaceful surroundings. After the staff helped us take the luggage from the car, we were seated comfortably at the lobby lounge, and enjoyed matcha and local confectionery while the staff completed our registration.

We booked the Japanese Style Modern Suite with Semi-open Bath (Type A), and the staff then led us to our room on the second floor (Room 205 高円). Along the way she told us to choose a fragrance oil for our relaxation in the room. This is the first time in my experience a ryokan offering such.

The room is very spacious, with a traditional Japanese living room which can turn in a bedroom with futon for two people. On the other side there is the western style section with two beds, and a living room with sofa and coffee table.

The room has a warm ambiance making us totally relaxed staying inside, and the nice choice of wood and fabric offers further comfort, with the large windows showing views of the trees and garden outside. And there were some snowflakes falling for a short while to make it even more beautiful.

Inside the room we have our own cypress semi-open bath, with the water temperature adjusted by the professional caretaker to the right temperature of 42 deg C for guests to soak in. Apart from enjoying the onsen in the room, we could reserve the open-air bath in a separate cottage surrounded by bamboo. Each group is allowed a 50 minute session.

The meal was another highlight for the ryokan. We had ordered the premium extra which included the additional local delicacies of lobster, abalone and splendid alfonso. The lobster is made into sashimi, while the lobster is grilled in front of us (a bit cruel looking at it writhing on fire) and the splendid alfonso made into sushi. The breakfast was equally impressive and no wonder this ryokan prides itself for the cuisine. All the different dishes were amazing in taste and beautifully presented.

The total cost for spending a night here including the additional charge for the premium extra on the dinner was around 89,000 yen. A good deal considering the quality of the room, the nice onsen in the room and private one in the cottage, plus the really wonderful meals and great service. I truly recommend this ryokan.

Gyokusui since2008

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