Takimikan

Me and my husband stayed in Takimikan for one night during our honeymoon to Japan and it was amazing! Since the ryokan is located at the back of Ginzan Onsen, it was very convenient to use the provided shuttle bus service from the nearest train station. Otherwise it's a bit of a walk from the regular bus stop. We explored the mountain area and park before it got dark (which was a good decision since it might be slippery to go up there at night), it had such beautiful scenery. Walking the town both during daylight and evening, the atmosphere was magical during both times. The ryokans lining the main street seemed a bit cramped, so we were glad to have chosen Takimikan. Our room was on the second floor of the main building, spacious, with a wonderful view of the mountains, woods and the waterfall downhill. The food was delicious, both the luxurious dinner and invigorating breakfast, plus we had the best umeshu of our 4-week trip at Takimikan...it was impossible to drink just one glass. The service was impeccable, staff was friendly and helpful. I can speak Japanese so it was easy for me to communicate, but I could see that the staff were attentive also to English-speaking guests via the use of a translation app. The outdoor onsen was also nice, listening to the sound of the waterfall after a tiring day was relaxing. If we ever get a chance to go back to Ginzan Onsen, I would definitely like to stay here again.

Everything was great except the food. Both dinner and breakfast were sub-par with odd flavoring, they used the same super sour plum sauce in almost every dish. Sincerely hope they improve the food quality in the future.

I went to Japan 3 weeks and stayed in 9 hotels. This is the best of all as summarised 1) service - extremely good service whether during check-in, breakfast n dinner 2) though the hotel is not in the ginza onsen main street it is totally fine because the room has direct view to the waterfall n there is a walkway down to the main street. At night, there is shuttle to bring u down n up. Even they provided their boots n jacket for u to wear 3) the breakfast is not buffet style but like those fine dining few courses meal. The dinner is the most surprising with so many courses till we cannot really finish (just a note to the restaurant, can reduce the soba portion to half as after eating too many small dishes can't really consume the normal size of soba). Super nice n tasty. Best meal I had in Jpn 4) the room is comfortable especially the mattress n there is chair overseeing the waterfall from window. Just some point minus is the room come with toilet but not shower as I understand they want everyone use the onsen to shower. 5) non smoking really enforce many due to the design I can't smell any trace of smoke (some hotel they have smoking room inside the hotel where nearby have smell) 6) I think if I ever come again I ll stay here again because the main street hotel is very packed n facing main roads. Looks kinda old too.

Located quite far away from the onsen street, Takimikan is quite a quiet gem in Ginzan onsen. It is located up the hill and have to be accessed by car. Alternatively if you are not carrying much luggage, you may still be able to walk from the far end of the onsen street up for about 10 minutes, behind the road form Takimi soba restaurant. If you go from the hotel to the onsen street you need to turn left from hotel entrance and go down hill. It takes about 5 minutes to go down. There are only about 10 rooms in the hotel on two floors. We stayed on the upper floor with bigger rooms and beds. Fortunately there is a lift for carrying luggage. The hotel is quite simple that it does not have a souvenir shop. The furnishing and decoration is good in its state but a bit dated. The onsen is on the lower floor, with outdoor bath view overlooking the waterfalls and trail. Dinner and breakfast are both served in the dining room. Both the dinner and breakfast are very good in taste and quality. I can say it is one of the best onsen meals I have experienced in recent years.

Check-in and check-out times were weird. More on that later. Old and dated, not only in its structure but in the furniture inside the room. The bedding even smells dated! Service was horrible, perhaps because we don't speak Japanese. Upon check-in, we were forewarned that if we check out late the next morning (9 a.m.), we will be charged an extra day's rate. Who on earth checks out so early in the hospitality industry!! At dinner, the server did not try to explain anything at all. It was just placing things on the table. I had a thought throughout my dinner, that either she was forced to work there as a indentured worker by someone or that she despised non-Japanese. No water was served at dinner. We were shown a beverage menu. Not a drinker, I ordered juices for the whole party. One tiny glass of canned juice cost USD$7. Canned/concentrate, not fresh juice. And, we already paid almost USD$700 for just one night, with meals included. They have the audacity to charge extra for juice, and we ordered only because we did not know we had to pay extra and we just needed some liquids to down the food with. I should have brought my own bottled water! What ryokan experience?? Nothing warm or welcoming. The only saving grace was that we got to enjoy the outdoor onsen (man-made) early the next morning since we checked in at 4 p.m. the first day and wanted to at least dip in some onsen before we had to rush to eat breakfast and check out EARLY that morning.

While some people may want to stay along the main onsen street for the shops and convenience, this hotel offers a totally different experience since it is located at the hill top next to the waterfall. When visiting in autumn, one could appreciate with lovely environment with the red leaves. The hotel does offer pick-up from and send-off shuttle service to the closest rail station, Ōishida, saving guests the trouble of using the local bus. I used the local bus to reach the hotel from the station, and with no taxi in the area, I needed to walk and climb the hill, which took around 20-25 minutes, which was still manageable. And there is night shuttle bus to take guests to the main street. I was there during the autumn Ginzan Onsen Illumination event, and it was lovely to stroll around the little onsen town to appreciate the beauty of it. Dinner and breakfast were both delicious with high quality food but not of the luxurious standards of some onsen hotels I had been too. The outdoor onsen was very nice offering an excellent view. All in all, a nice hotel of high standard.