MMaria FlinkWhen I saw where the hotel was located, I immediately knew that I wanted to stay there because I dreamed of seeing Amanoiwato Jinja. I went to the cave twice, in the morning and in the evening, there is a very beautiful road, and it only takes about 20 minutes to walk. It is also easy to get to Takachiho Gorge, the bus stop is a couple of minutes from the hotel.
This was my first experience of staying in a traditional hotel in Japan, and I really liked everything. Delicious dinner and breakfast - I tried a traditional kaiseki dinner, and it was an amazing experience. Attentive, caring hotel staff, perfect cleanliness everywhere, amazing mountain air. Natural wood in the room decoration creates a feeling of warmth and comfort. In the bathroom, you can try Japanese cosmetics. In the evening, you can drink tea, sitting in a comfortable chair with a book. At first, the silence around is unusual, but for us, city dwellers, it is necessary. Since it is dark around, you can see the starry sky - you will not see this in the city. There is a free shuttle from the hotel to the traditional Yokagura show in the evening. For someone interested in mythology, this was very interesting.
I did not get the hang of the hot tub right away and I still feel awkward about it, and I forgot to mention that I am allergic to onions, but it is my fault for forgetting to mention it.
I would highly recommend the Ryokan Iwatoya, it was an amazing experience.
TTatianaK.From the bottom of my heart, I’d like to thank all staff of the hotel. My 11-old son and I stayed there for just one night, because we were on our way to visit gorgeous Toungenkyu hydrangeas park in the other town, so we chose to stay in Hyugashi, and that was definitely the right decision! I didn’t know that there was no public transportation assess to the park, because it’s located far upon to the mountains. But I never give up So, I decided to get to the park by hitchhiking! And one of kind managers of the hotel wrote the name of the park in Japanese characters on a big sheet of paper to be seen from far apart for drivers. Besides, he told us where it could be possible to stop a car. So we did it! First, we went to the nearest town by train, and tried the hitching there. There was a nice lady who took us to the park and back to Hyugashi, we were so grateful to her!!! The local people were kind to us everywhere whenever it was a restaurant or a station. We will never forget the kindness of the local people!!!
We liked that izakaya on the first floor in the building. Moreover, we liked that nice quiet town Hyugashi because of its people! We wish you all the best!!!