The breakfasts and dinners were outstanding - exceeded my expectations at the Ryokan. The four public baths can be used privately on a first come, first served basis and it felt like a luxury to share a large hot spring bath with my partner. The staff, with little english, communicated with us as best they could given we had next to no Japanese. My partner had help with the fitting of het Yukata and the last doing this spent a significant amount of time making sure it was just right.

The one thing I would comment on is that it would have been very helpful for the maids, delivering the in room meals, to demonstrate how the constituent parts should be eaten. The food is excellent, and whilst eating most aspects of the meal are self-evident, which accompanying sauces should be used with which dishes, or how certain side dishes should be approached or combined is not always clear. Given the array of dishes laid out in our absence, it wasn't immediately apparent to us what we weren't sure of until they had left. This could be achieved by a brief physical indication, overcoming the language barrier. We didn't want to get it wrong given the quality of the meal provided.

This property is incredibly beautiful and is about a 5 min walk away from the train station in Kinosaki. We showed up early and they held our bags while we explored the city before check in. Once we came back to check in, our bags were already in the room. They gave us a tour of the property which includes a main dining area for your dinner or breakfast if you included that in the booking and four private onsens for the guests to use on a first come first serve basis. We used the private onsens a number of times and there was always at least one available. We booked the suite and it was a stunning, huge room. There was a sitting desk area, an enormous living room with a couch and TV (first couch I’ve seen in a ryokan style room), separate bedroom area with two full size futon mattresses on the floor, a kitchenette, and a large bathroom with a shower. The property was a nice mixture of traditional Japanese ryokan and modern amenities. They give you beautiful Yukatas to wear throughout the town; women get to pick a color design of their choosing, and they give you wooden slippers to wear out on the street. As part of your booking, you also receive a lanyard with a QR code to grant you access to all of the public onsens within Kinosaki. They have a guidebook in the room which included recommendations for places to eat. We went to a local Oden restaurant and it was one of my favorite meals in Japan. There are many restaurant and cafe options within a short walking distance as well as a 24 hr Family Mart just down the street. We included the traditional Japanese breakfast in the booking and I highly recommend it as it was delicious. The staff were extremely kind and accommodating and the property also has a washing machine and a microwave to use.

Nothing

We booked last minute for Kinosaki onsen from Kyoto and whilst on the higher end cost for one night, we thought it would be worth it as a nice night away. We loved the little town and the location of the hotel was easy to find (look for the Big Crab on the main street). It was our first onsen experience and we didn't know what to expect. We arrived at 2pm from the train (only a 5 min walk from train station) but it was obvious that they were not ready to attend to you before check-in, so we waited until 3pm. Once we got checked-in, they let the women choose their yukatas and we were given the QR passes for the 7-onsens as well as a map. Note that some onesens are closed certain days of the week! One staff member, Han, was very helpful and her English was really good. Not all of the staff speak English. The room itself is a large traditional room with tatami floors. It was clean and well appointed with a floor table for teatime. They convert the room into a bedroom by putting out floor futons for sleeping. There is a toilet but no shower/bath, as you're meant to use the hotel's showering rooms/private onsen. The BEST part are the 4x private baths. You don't have to reserve a timeslot but you can just use them whenever they are available, no time limit. We checked out two in the evening after the public onsens, then again in the morning. This was the best part for us since my partner didn't enjoy the public baths very much. They were beautiful baths for soaking, with large windows that faced a small garden, and they also offered all of the amenities of a reg hotel bathroom (shampoo, conditioner, soap, body lotion, as well as brushes, toothbrushes etc).

Although we left the sign on our door to make the bed, we came back in the evening (around 11pm) and the bed wasn't made. There was no one at the front desk and we were shy to ring the bell. The place is very quiet and we didn't want to wake up other guests so we made the bed ourselves to the best of our ability. They apologized the next day when we told them. We found the timings made the morning seem really rushed: Private Baths available 6:30-9:30, breakfast available between 8-8:30, and checkout was at 10am. So there was no sleeping in, or relaxing in the room after breakfast.

Mikuniya is a 5-star resort. Everything from arrival/check-in to check-out is handled with great care and attention to detail. The rooms are beautiful with lovely tatami mats and a seating area that I enjoyed in the evenings. The very comfortable futon was prepared by the staff each night and then put away each morning while you are away at breakfast. Dinner was served in the room each night, kaiseki style. The flavors, textures and colors were exquisitely prepared by the chef. These were meals like I had nowhere else in Japan - simply incredible! Dinner the first night included Shabu Shabu Tajima beef, crab, sashimi, tempura, spanish mackerel and more. The second night's dinner was just as incredible. For the "onsen hopping" experience, you are provided with a takaya, belt/obi, slippers, towels, etc. for use in the onsens. Then just follow the easy to read map and stroll around town enjoying the incredible hot baths. Truth be told, I only managed to complete 3 in one day - I took my time and they are HOT! Be prepared! But it's a great experience. The hotel has 4 of its own private onsens which I used 2 different times. It's convenient to have them at the hotel - I used one the morning of checkout because I didn't want to walk to another one in town. The staff at Mikuniya are so kind and helpful with anything you need - from the wonderful dinner service to helping with check-in, or even helping to tie obi sash. I would highly recommend the hotel. It's a bit on the expensive side, but definitely worth a splurge in this wonderful town. It's a unique magical experience.

Location and staff were both very good. Hotel was very nice and clean. There were 4 private baths and I think a total of like 12-16 rooms? This guarantees there's usually always a private bath open to use. Only time there wasn't was right around check-in time.

Had the tajima beef shabu-shabu meal. It was good but personally for us probably wasn't worth the extra money. It was a nice experience though. Breakfast was also just okay in our opinion.

It was well positioned near to the train station, about a 5 min walk and right on the Main Street. There were places to eat nearby, but this was not required with the exceptional food provided for dinner and breakfast. There is only a toilet in the room, which was as expected, as there were 4 private onsens within the property all on the same level of this multi level building. The private onsens were clean and I enjoyed many long hours soaking and bathing over the time I stayed. They provided yukata for day and night wear, so I did not need to wear street clothing. The town itself is lovely. Not overcrowded at all, and with 7 public bath houses scattered around town, it was a very good trip. Would recommend

There are many stairs on this 3 level building so not accessible otherwise

You get everything you may expect and more. The hotel is located close to the train station. As Kinosaki is not too far stretched out, it is easy to reach all the onsens in town and the ropeway and the way up to Onsenji. The room is spacious, with seperate seating area. The service provides everything, including onsen day pass and luggage storage. Very kind staff! Dinner and breakfast were loads of many different kind of delicious food. It is served in the room. The hotel has four own private onsen for use on a first come, first served basis without prebooking. I tried three of them and the experience was awesome!

Friendly staff, excellent service & food!!! -They prepped and changed sheets/futon daily -4 private onsen options are convenient alternatives to the public onsens -Yukatas (color and basic ones) provided daily -Ryokan etiquette may be confusing for foreigners -Convenient location to the supermarket and JR station

-Breakfast and dinner times are preset - if you're late on the train, you may miss dinner -Private onsens not available before 6:30am -Couldn't pick dinner options - would've liked seafood more than sukiyaki in the summer -Communication may be hard without basic Japanese

The room was good. The staff are very lovely and try really hard to explain things despite limited English. One of the private baths is very modern and truly a wonderful place to relax. The location is very central and a close walking distance to absolutely everything.

There was no option to not include food and while the crab dinner was delicious, the rest of the meals contained too much food and were a bit overwhelming. One of the windows is the room was a bit broken which meant it didn’t shut fully and let some bugs in.

A traditional Ryokan with update facilities. Great breakfast and dinner, one of the best I have tried from the onsen hotels. Staff are great, they are all proactive in offering us assistance and help at the most appropriate time even we haven't asked for it. Special thanks to the young cheerful lady who briefed us facilities of the hotel and served us dinner is their star performer and made our stay much enjoyable.

Ventilation of their indoor onsen is a bit poor with little view. However, there are 7 large public onsen in town available for the hotel guest, which are highlight of Kinosaki