Kitanokaze Saryou

We stayed in a Japanese Western style suite with a semi-open air private onsen. The room was modern and very large and was divided in to living/dining and bedroom areas in an open plan style. We enjoyed the hot spring pool which was in a separate part of the bathroom, connected onto the balcony. As it is semi-open, it is possible to open the sliding doors to let out the steam and regulate the temperature. It was also possible to regulate the temperature of the onsen itself with the cold and hot water taps. This is a small, 10 room ryokan making the atmosphere very quiet and the location feels secluded, although in reality it is situated a very short distance (80m) from the popular Senkyoromae bus-stop on the Togendai bus line. This makes it possible to catch a single bus line from the Odawara station although it can take between 45 minutes - 1 1/2 hours to make that ride and the bus can be packed as a result. Although I knew that half board (i.e dinner and breakfast) was included, I was not expecting such a wonderfully crafted and complete dinner. Both meals were multiple courses (6-10 courses) of exquisite Japanese food. We left feeling completely satisfied and full. The meals are held in the dining area which is actually 10 separated cubicles so that you only dine with your own party. The staff were polite, friendly and helpful. Staying at this ryokan was expensive but when considering the size of the room, the private onsen and the incredible meals in the popular Hakone area with a relatively secluded by convenient location, it is probably reasonable value for money.

It was very difficult to control the temperature of the room. Even though the onsen was separated from the bedroom by two doors, so effectively there was an extra room (the sink room) between the steam from the onsen and the sleeping quarters, the suite was still noticeably humid and warm. This was despite the use of a dehumidifier in the room. The air-conditioning didn't seem to be effective in lowering the temperature as when we put it on the lowest setting 18 degrees celsius, as it would blow out warm air and then stop after a few minutes. Overall, this made it difficult to sleep for the two nights we were there, with the temperature of the room slowly lowering as the night progressed. We were unable to find staff at the front desk to help as it closed after 7pm and when we attempted to call from our rooms, we could not find any English instructions as to what number to call. The beds were quite firm.