Bettei Otozure

WOW! This was the first Ryokan Onsen that I stayed in and I was blown away by the lodging, the amazing staff, and the food. I say lodging because my ryokan has as much square footage as my home—a balcony, an outdoor onsen, shower and changing area, two separate toilet rooms, an open configurable area with kitchen, dining area, living room area, and sleeping area. They provided a yukata and a cloth purse that I wore for meals in the restaurant, and pajamas for relaxing in the accommodations. Every corner of the room and the ryokan was thoughtfully decorated—flower arrangements, ceramics, pictures, and so on. Happy hour each evening was a relaxing affair in the low-key bar area. Our tuxedo-clad host was efficient and friendly. Guests have a choice of "American" or Japanese breakfast. I tried each. "American" breakfast is much different from what we'd have in the USA, but you won't get the tasty Umeboshi plum or Japanese pickles provided with the Japanese breakfast. I found that both choices were far too much for me. On two days I opted instead to get a pastry from the bake shop and eat in my room. The kaiseki was fabulous. I was with a group (10 total) so we dined in our own room each night. Each night had a different menu. If you want to get an idea of what the experience was like, see the photos I posted for each of the kaiseki courses we had on the first night. Thanks to Head Chef Junichi Takeda for the wonderful meals and to Otani-san for being such a gracious and wonderful host.

If I could give this place 6 stars I would. We booked a Type A room which included dinner in both the Teppanyaki restaurant and the Kaseike restaurant. Both were Michelin star quality, we had breakfast which was just as outstanding. Our room, 201, with its own hot tub was a beautiful respite from exploring the surrounds. There is a shrine about a ten minute walk from town that is out of this world. Then There is the staff which were all excellent. But the standouts were, Mikki and Wanami who looked after us beautifully. Wearing Kimonos in the ryokan was fun, there are plenty of restaurant choices outside the hotel too but we never contemplated that as an option. This ryokan is outstanding and I will be referring all of my friends to visit here.