I have never before walked into a hotel room and refused to leave because of the view but I did at this beautiful ryokan. Jukeiso is something special, set on the hill next to the famous O-Torii gate on the island. We were met at the ferry terminal and taken through the town to the ryokan, where we were met by more wonderfully attentive staff who gave us the warmest of welcomes and insisted on taking our bags, something I always feel guilty about. While we checked in, one member of staff even cleaned the wheels of our suitcase, which I'd say goes above and beyond. We were shown up to our room and we were quite blown away. The room had windows on two sides looking on to the bay where the O-Torii gate is. The room itself was a traditional Japanese one with tatami mats in the main room and futons which were laid out for us when we went for dinner. This being Japan, there were of course all modern conveniences including charging points, adaptors, spotlessly clean facilities, a TV and small kitchen area but the main draw was the stupendous view. We were given tea and invited to settle in and I didn't move until the evening. I just sat in the window looking at the view. The ryokan is located right in the town centre, down a flight of stairs. It is also about a five minute walk from the O-Torii gate. In the evening, we went down for dinner. I am a vegan and my wife had advised them of this. In response they had made clear that they were very happy to cater for me, which they did with aplomb. We were treated to a seven course meal which, for most residents was very heavily based around fish and seafood, with some of the area's famous oysters served as a starter. I was given equivalent dishes throughout and thoroughly enjoyed them all, although we were given so much that I was unable to finish my meal. The staff were attentive and helpful throughout. My only comment on their wonderful service is that they might have helped us poor foreigners with a description of the delicious food we were served. As with many traditional guest houses in Japan, the ryokan had a communal bathing area and an outdoor onsen which could be booked for free for half an hour. My wife enjoyed this on her own as I didn't want to rush her. Beautiful yucata were provided for bathers to wear after their relaxation time. We returned to our room to find that the futons had been laid out and we spent much of the evening simply sitting at the window before going to sleep. In the morning, we were able to get up and down to the O-Torii gate before all the tourists had arrived, which was a real treat. Breakfast was once again excellent with my wife and son enjoying a traditional one which, once again, was very fish and seafood dependent. As the unadventurous type - and a vegan - I had a traditional European breakfast of tea, toast, fruit and a small salad, which was just what I wanted. We left in the morning and the wonderful staff looked after our bags, deliverin
Excellent
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