Yumotoya

Arriving in a taxi, two men graciously took our luggage up to our room while we checked in at reception who greeted us by name which was posted on the door to our room. Slippers available for our use were stored on a shelf to switch out our shoes. The room was spacious with the futons already set out. There were two tables in the room - one with chairs near the windows and one between the table and futons at floor-sitting level set with tea and a snack. After dinner, fresh tea supplies were waiting. The dining room is a beautiful space with slatted screens set up between some tables, giving the illusion of privacy. Tables are assigned for the stay. Our waitress was lovely. She explained everything (in Japanese.) Dinner and breakfast were both traditional meals - each plate delicious - some courageous bites on my part. For me, the highlights were individual shabu shabu and excellent tempura. The same woman served us breakfast. After dinner, it was onsen time! On our floor happened to be a private onsen, but we opted for the public gender-separate baths. The women's at night had an outdoor bath. Beautiful night air. In the morning, the onsens were switched, so we enjoyed the other set of baths. The shower room was very comfortable. We missed the bus from Matsumoto Castle because of a misunderstanding of exits, so we took a taxi which cost around 1600 yen. In the morning, the bus stop back to Matsumoto was right outside the door, and someone from the ryokan waited with us.

The staff were very nice, and the use of google translate helped bridge language barriers. It is 10min from Matsumoto driving. Regarding value for money , it was average given the facilities are also fairly dated. I am comparing to other stays at similar guesthouses .

We chose Yumotoya because it was much less expensive than many other ryokan in the Matsumoto area and we were traveling on a budget. So it didn't come as a big surprise that the building is a bit dated and could use a coat of paint and some new carpet. Our room safe didn't work; neither did the fridge. The air conditioner was adequate to cool the room we slept in, but didn't extend to the outer room or the bathroom. The tea in the room was self-service, though the water in the carafe was fresh and hot. That said, it was still a really nice experience. The onsen are sparkling clean and the outside one offers a nice view over the city. The staff speaks limited English, but they were helpful in trying to fix our room safe, helping tie my yukata, even escorting us to the bus stop in the morning. The dinner was just wonderful. In fact, that meal definitely brought my rating up to four stars. Our server was delightful and each course was delicious. Arrive at dinner hungry, because there were at least 10 courses (I lost count), including a lovely selection of tiny appetizers. Breakfast was also generous and beautifully prepared. Overall, it's not the height of luxury that you find at some ryokan, but the food was as good as any I've had in Japan.

The food was good and the hot baths were surprisingly large. The location is not great if you are interested in sightseeing the city, but it's good for hiking or trips to the mountain. The rooms were slightly old, but with standard japanese hospitality; exactly what you need.