Ryokan are a popular recommendation in Japan but can be difficult to find info on or book as an English speaker. We just got back from a trip earlier this week and I wanted to put together a guide/review of our experience at Sekizenkan, which seems to be popular on Instagram since the oldest building is one of the inspirations for Spirited Away. I will go into DETAIL so hopefully this is helpful to someone else planning their trip!
1. BOOKING
I booked directly through their website (https://www.sekizenkan.co.jp/) and had no issues. There are 3 buildings: Honkan (bare bones rooms), Sanso and Kashotei (full service). We booked in the Kashotei as I wanted dinner to be in our room and not in the dining room.
Booking through Japanese hotel websites is never fun or intuitive… but it's not the worst site I've used. You will pay PER PERSON since it includes breakfast and dinner, so make sure to have the right number of people from the start!
Booking online has you pay at the hotel at checkout, so no expenses upfront.
2. GETTING THERE
We were staying in Tokyo so this is where I'll start to give directions. I went to a JR ticket office in person after I arrived in Japan to make the booking, though you could probably book online (I have no experience with this). The train you will want is the Kusatsu-Shima Limited Express train. This train has all reserved seats so I recommend booking in advance since you can't just walk on. This train leaves from Ueno station so make sure you are there on time! The platform is in the area with the Shinkansen tracks, ask for directions if needed.
You will get off at the small station Nakanojo. There you will get on a bus (there is only one bus stop) to get to the stop Shima Onsen, which is the end of the line. The bus schedule aligns with the train schedule so you will get on the bus immediately after getting off the train. When we were there, the bus driver was at the exit making sure everyone from the train got on the bus that needed to, so don't be afraid you will miss it. You will have no time (and there are no convenience stores) at Nakanojo, so make sure you have all the drinks/snacks you want for your stay before you get on the train in Ueno.
Get off at Shima Onsen station (last in the line) and Sekizenkan is just up the road. You can take your luggage there for them to hold on to if you get there before check in.
3. THE TOWN
Shima Onsen is a super tiny town and felt a little like a ski town in offseason when we were there in late August. It's probably more busy at other times of the year, but there is still not really much to do or see in the area. There were a couple spots near the hotel open for lunch so we stopped at one since our bus got us there around 12:30 PM after taking the 10 AM train. The hotel also has a cafe but it's closed on Fridays. There are some bridges with good views of the river that you can wander to. We didn't find any public foot baths like you might find in other onsen towns, but there is a foot bath at Sekizenkan if you want to use that as you wait.
4. CHECK IN and THE ROOM
We were sitting at the hotel cafe when the front desk receptionist came in and told us our room was ready. Sekizenkan has 3 main buildings that are all connected by elevators, but it can be really confusing. The receptionist gave us a laminated paper with step by step instructions and photos to get us to the Kashotei check in desk.
At the check in desk, they sat us all down and gave us tea and went over the room, meals, baths, etc. One disappointment was that although our booking said dinner was to be in the room, they reassigned us to the dining room for dinner. I asked why and they didn't really give me an explanation. Maybe because we were foreigners they thought the dining room would be more comfortable? The tables in the rooms are the traditional low height where you sit on the floor, but the dining room has Western style tables. If you have trouble sitting on the floor definitely request the dining room.
The room keys are literal keys, so make sure to lock your room when you leave. It will not lock automatically.
Another person showed us to the room and gave us a rundown of where everything was. There was a basket for each person with a towel in it and a Yukata, belt and socks for each person. Go ahead and put these clothes on because it's what everyone wears in the hotel. If you need a different size yukata, you can get one at the desk. They are sized based on height.
In the standard rooms, the main tatami area will have a table and chairs. While you are at dinner (if in the dining room) or after dinner, they will put the table away and bring out the futons for sleep. So don't be worried if you don't see anywhere to sleep at first!
5. THE BATHS
The best baths were the outdoor ones on 5F of the Kashotei building. To go to the bath, first prepare your basket and make sure to bring a towel! There will not be towels in the bath for you. Don your yukata and socks and head to the 5th floor. There is some water and iced tea in the bath lobby for you if need, then enter the women or mens bath. I am a woman so I'll walk you through that side.
When you enter, take off your slippers and attach a numbered clip that is provided. This is how you know which slippers are yours, since they are all identical. The toilet is directly after, so use it if you need. Then enter the prep room/locker room? Not sure what to call it. But there is a shelf for you to put your basket on here. Pick a spot and take off your clothes and put them in the basket. Yes, all your clothes. You will be completely naked for the baths. Put the towel on top so you don't have to dig for it later with wet hands.
After undressing, make sure you have a hair clip or hair tie. You can't have your hair hanging into the bath water, and you can use a shower cap as well (provided in the little bin on the counter). There are also hairbrushes in the little bin on the counter if you need, and there is a used brush area on the counter as well for you to put it in when you are done.
Next, enter the bath area. After stepping through the door, the showers will be directly on your left. There are stools, buckets, and a removable shower head for each station. There are also toiletries provided so you don't need to bring shampoo, conditioner, body wash, face wash, etc. Wash up at the station (I didn't wash my hair every time but I washed my body every time). When you are done, rinse off everything with the shower wand including the stool you sat on.
Then you can enter the bath! There is an indoor bath in the room with the showers, or the super nice outdoor bath is out the door to the right. Make sure your hair is up and contained in a clip or shower cap! Then enjoy the bath for as long as you like 🙂
Once you are done, head back inside to the locker room area. Grab your towel from your station and dry off. There are chairs and hairdryers at the counters if you need to use them. Otherwise get dressed again in your yukata and socks before leaving the baths.
I think because we are in the Kashotei, they gave us a password for the lounge in the Sanso building. If you have access then head there after your bath. They have popsicles in the freezer, cold drinks in the fridge, tea and coffee in the lounge. If you don't have lounge access, there is an ice cream vending machine in the hallway outside the 5F Kashotei baths that you can use for something cold.
We used the baths constantly, once every 2 or 3 hours or so while we were there. Each dip was only 15-20 minutes apiece.
6. MEALS
Meals in the Kashotei were elaborate kaiseki type dinners. We went to the dining room for our meal at the time they booked us for (there were a few slots to choose from). The menu is set, there is no ordering. If you don't like something you can just have them take it away, no hard feelings or anything. Food was traditional fancy Japanese food, I can post pictures and a menu later.
Breakfast was in the lounge room near the check in counter. It was also a big tray of food that was standard for each person, plus you got to choose a smoothie flavor and if you wanted rice or porridge. All the food was pretty good and I didn't have any complaints!
For snacks, there is a small shop near the check in counter. There are NO convenience stores in town but there are some small grocers that may have something. For drinks, there are some vending machines in the hotel and in town that have beer and lemon sours, etc. But I just recommend bringing what you want from Tokyo. There is a fridge in the room so you can put the drinks you brought in there.
7. HOTEL GROUNDS
The hotel had some areas to explore and a stamp rally if you want, but there weren't any facilities other than the baths and formal dining areas. They do light up the front of the hotel every night until 9:30 PM so you can go out and take a really beautiful photo of the old building. Definitely don't forget to do this!!
Other ryokan I've been to have had a karaoke lounge, bar, or room with ping pong etc, but this ryokan was more basic. It looked like there was a pachinko parlor in town but we didn't venture out to see if it was open, so entertainment is limited here.
There is a small museum room that also has autographs from Hayao Miyazaki so make sure to take a look at those before you leave!
8. CHECKING OUT and TRAVEL BACK TO TOKYO
Check out was at 11. We waited as close to time as possible so we could get more bath trips in (our feet were so sore by this point in our trip!). They held our luggage at the front desk again as we went into town for some lunch. The bus left Shima Onsen at 12:40 PM so we killed time until then.
The bus arrived at Nakanojo station at 1:20 PM ish and the Kusatsu-Shima train stopped at 1:29 PM for us to get on. We got off at Ueno station at around 3:30 PM and continued our trip from there.
Overall we had a great time! The outdoor hot springs were lovely, the food was good, the rooms were very nice, and the hotel had alot of charm. I think next time we will go back to a onsen town with a little more going on (we liked Gero alot more) but I'm very happy with our stay.
I hope this was helpful!
by saridien
2 comments
This is just what I needed! Thank you!
Very informative! When we went in 2017, we did the package with the bus, so we took what is I guess the onsen bus there to and from (with a midway stop that honestly I cannot tell you where now). We decided to walk past the town and along the road ALL THE WAY up to the dam to check the Shima blue water (that you can see in the river), and that was definitely awesome too!