도코나미소 료칸

Something for everyone.

Situated next to an upmarket hotel and onsen the ryokan was 15 minutes by (free) shuttle from the Nagiso station. The room was large but be aware there are shared ablution facilities. Also, there is no food whatsoever provided, other than cold drinks and beers via a vending machine. There are no chopsticks/cutlery so bring your own. While yakartas and towels are provided there is no soap in the room. Guest as allowed to use the onsen in the main hotel. This is the only way you will get a shower as the ablution facilities do not include showers. The environment is beautiful and the hike to Magamo is absolutely stunning, as are the 2 post towns which date back to the 1500’s. No recommended for those who want more creature comforts.

Let me start this review by saying that I am not a "Karen". I normally stay in hostels and cheaper accomodation. But this hotel has some bad water damage on the screens and damage to the tatami. There are also squirrels living in the roof! You can hear them at night. The walls were quite thin but it didn't bother me because I had earplugs. I could not get ahold of the hotel at all via messages or email to arrange the shuttle bus, I was only able to get it because the tourist information desk in Tsumago knew about the shuttle bus and called the hotel for me (my travel SIM does not allow me to make phone calls). Access to the neighbour guesthouse / onsen was great, though I would suggest going between 5-6pm, while the guests inside the neighbour guesthouse are eating. Around 6-7pm they turn on music in the outdoor onsen, and it's the same track over and over again. It's not a nice spa-type track, it's something that contains chanting. I'm not sure why they are doing this, unless it's a passive aggressive way to get people out of the outdoor onsen sooner? It seemed really strange for such an upscale place, and I was really disappointed that I could not find peace while using the outdoor onsen. The indoor pool was great though.

We had an enjoyable time at the ryokan after walking the Magome to Tsumago pass. No issues with the room and the staff were very nice & attentive. The public & private onsen at the sister hotel were great. The downside is that it is quite far from Tsumago so we had to rely on the shuttle timings (also we only received confirmation of the shuttle on the day). We were aware of the lack of food at the location so stocked up accordingly. Would definitely recommend this stay!

A good place to stay, with free shuttle.