I stayed at four ryokans during my trip. They were all great and the expense was worth it. Each of them provided outstanding service in their own way and paid attention to details the others did not. This got longer than I expected so I will make it a four part series.
The first was Gora Kadan at Hakone. My suite was the Rindo. It was much bigger than the pictures suggested. There were two entrances for the suite because the suite actually comprises of two separate rooms.
The first room serves as public space. It contained a foyer/shoe closet, a full bath with shower and cypress tub, living/dining space, a sitting room, and sliding door to the deck and garden. The second room included a smaller foyer, full closet, half bath, giant vanity, bedroom, private onsen with attached shower, and also opens to the deck.
The highlight is the onsen enclosed within sliding glass doors that overlooks the garden. If soaking in the giant wooden tub of hot spring water wasn’t relaxing enough, the view will do the trick.
There were no connecting doors between the two rooms so the options were to use the front entry doors or the deck in the back. I always chose the latter. It does get annoying at times but I understand their reasoning. For example, during dinner they refreshed and prepared the bedroom and I had absolutely no idea!
The kaiseki dinner was good as well as breakfast. I am not a foodie so my review of it won’t carry much weight.
A unique touch was a box of calligraphy tools including paper, envelope, brush, and ink. I can see how the garden could inspire one to write poetry.
Service is Gora’s forte. My attendant was absolutely delightful. Not only did she cater to my every need with thoughtful precision, she identified gaps in my plans during casual conversation and had expertise to offer solutions. That’s how I was able to rectify a shinkansen ticket issue without lifting a finger. Every staff I interacted with was as helpful as they were polite. I felt like a shogun walking around my castle.
The ryokan boasts many facilities unfortunately I did not get a chance to partake during my one night stay. The property is beautiful inside and out. It leans more modern than traditional so you won’t get the full ryokan aesthetic. It’s a short walk to the station or they can drive you to and from. The train tracks actually run just outside yet you barely notice it. In fact, I awoke to the sounds of birds chirping which was not like Tokyo the night before.
Gora Kadan fully deserves its five stars and it set a very high bar for the other ryokans after.
Edit to add pictures: [https://imgur.com/a/MAyVU8m](https://imgur.com/a/MAyVU8m)
Part 2 [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/JapanTravel/comments/12v7pzd/ryokan_review_part_2_kagaya/).
7 comments
You mentioned you stayed 4 weeks, would you be willing to the post trip report for your journey?
Can the owner communicate in English?
Was it easy to book? Like could I just book on a website? Or do I have to find a third party website to book?
Also, how early did you book it?
I’m going to be traveling staying there in a few weeks. So thanks for posting the review. Double checking if the dinner/breakfast was in your room or a buffet? I heard about a lot bigger ryokan switching to buffet.
Are people with tattoos allowed into this establishment?
One thing I’ve learned about when travelling in Japan, is that if you book a Ryokan, you should just make a day or at least half a day where you can just enjoy being there, using the Onsens walking around in the kimono spending time in your room, and in the Japanese . I never book for one night always two.
How was it eating kaiseki meals 4 days in a row?