I had arrived to no one there to welcome me. After I had paid my taxi fares and stepped out, finally there was a man who seemed less than excited to usher me in. He did not offer to take my one single bag. However, after I stepped in things changed for the better. All the staff I encountered were warm and polite. And an elderly member of staff was especially genuine. Every single guest I saw were foreign tourists. This disrupted the serene environment as they were quite loud. I was confused as to why there were so many of them in this expensive ryokan in rural Japan that isn’t well-known internationally like Asaba. It felt like Hakone for a second. The surroundings were plain compared to the hotel; it was filled with 1980s hotels and far less atmospheric than I thought. The room is what you expect in this price range. Comfortable, understated and quintessentially Japanese. Outdoor onsen was nice and faces a quiant little ground