Hotel berhampiran Kawasan Rehat Otsu, Otsu

It was a great stay at this ryokan! The hotel is able to arrange a car to fetch you from the JR station. You can call them using a dedicated phone at the station which is used to contact the different ryokans. The car arrived in 10mins or so. The ride to the ryokan was also less than 10mins. The hotel also fetched us to the station on the last day of our stay. The ryokan itself is homely and cozy. We were greeted by an english speaking staff who introduced us to the amenities of the ryokan. There was also a nice welcome tea and matcha chocolate. Our bags were brought to our room as well during this time. The room is spacious and cozy. The hotel prepared 2 welcome biscuits in the room which was a nice personal touch. The room has a nice living room and a great view of Lake Biwa. Recommend to catch the sunrise over the lake! There are 2 normal beds as well as futon beds (need to set up yourself). Both are comfortable. The hotel also prepared pretty yukata for both female and male guests which you can wear during the stay. There are 4 different designs for ladies, and one design for the guys. You can request for different size if the one in the room doesn’t fit you. There is also a full length mirror and a mini dressing area at the side of the living room. It was fun dressing up in the yukata! The toilet, basin, shower and hot tub areas are all separate. The toilet is a little small, but the basin and mirror area is very spacious. The shower area is quite small as well and the shower head is rather low so you need to hold the shower head if you wish to wash up while standing. There is a small stool given for you to sit down though. The hot tub area is semi-outdoor and you can see Lake Biwa. But it is quite small (only good for one person). It was too cold so we didn’t use the hot tub. Instead, we booked the private onsen for 50mins. The private onsen has a private toilet and dressing area which is equipped with hairdryer, body lotion etc. There is a water dispenser as well if you need to hydrate yourself. The onsen area has a washing area, and the hot tub area is spacious for 2 person. There are privacy screens around the onsen area but there is a small gap to let in cold air for ventilation. Wish there is a good view from the private onsen but it was still enjoyable! Dinner and breakfast was Kaiseki style, and the meals were one of the highlights for my husband and I. We really enjoyed the courses which are clean tasting yet wholesome, fresh and flavourful. It was such a sumptuous treat! The ryokan also has a souvenir shop if you wish to buy anything back. Overall, my husband and I really enjoyed the stay here and we agreed this was one of the main highlights of our 12 days trip in Japan. Highly recommend!

Room was very good. Public onsen was ok; the water was not as hot and as original. Breakfast selection was ok, can be better and have more selection other than seafood. Dinner was superb! The only thing was lacking is the location. There was nothing else around the hotel. 2 day stay was more than enough. There were no other facilities or events than onsen bath, foot/hand bath, happy hours.

Highly recommended hotel. Staff were very friendly and did their best to make us feel welcome. The room was spacious and the open air onsen was gorgeous. Meals were well presented and very filling. I would definitely return if given the opportunity.

I would have said that we had a wonderful stay: loved the peaceful environment, the food, the morning service…. But then they started the morning with a team of workers going through the temple grounds with deafening leaf blowing machines! Why do they disturb the peace like this? The temple claims to be environmentally conscious, but these machines are noisy, irritating, wasteful and bad for the environment. It made me leave the place in a bed mood.

ia adalah satu pengalaman yang luar biasa untuk tinggal di hotel ini. kami menempah penginapan dengan makan malam dan sarapan pagi dan ia sangat berbaloi. santapan gaya Jepun sangat mengagumkan. dan kakitangannya sangat ramah walaupun mereka tidak tahu bahasa Inggeris.

缺點：酒店沒有lift, 要自己把行李行提上房間，但只需要行一至兩層樓， 尚可接受。 優點: 性價比高, 只需每人加700yen就可以享用湯元館溫泉，那裡3個溫泉都正，尤其是五樓及11樓兩個溫泉。 晚餐及早餐美味，只需要加二千多yen, 就可食近江牛，好抵。 房間乾淨整潔！ 推薦入住！

Clerks are all very nice, and they have shuttle buses to the JR station. However, foreign tourists with tattoos should note that they cannot use public bathroom, but they will still be charged the service fee of it.

Booked this stay to explore the areas around Lake Biwa. Reception was warm and friendly with an English-speaking host who provided us with the information for the stay. We booked the western style room as we preferred an attached bathroom, however the room condition was outdated and needs refurbishment, like peeling surfaces. The Japanese style room looked better when we caught a glimpse during check-out time. Nevertheless, location and amenities were great. Location is near major eateries and commercial centres by a short drive.

本來以為帶衞生間就可以洗澡了。但衞生間不能洗澡。三樓可以。有温泉洗浴。我是騎自行車旅行的，所以自行車收到口袋裡後就衹能步行了。周圍可以吃飯的地方不多。這天氣一走一身汗。 榻榻米房間挺好。

Ok. First of all leave your expectations at home expecting hotel level service. Once you've done that if you want a cheap but clean place to stay this is it. This is a seinenkan - a facility for youth and youth-related organizations to conduct independent study and recreational activities, many of which have basic accommodation facilities but higher grade facilities than youth hostels. They are located all over Japan. I stayed in a tatami mat room on a floor with shared toilet facilities. The ground floor has a large communal bath - obviously separate for male and females. They have lights out at 11 p.m. and guests must return by the same time. There is a very modern cafe onsite serving cheap breakfasts (see photos) but the cafe closes by 6 p.m. There is a convenience store 10 minutes walk away so I suggest you buy snacks and beverages en route from JR Ishiyama station. For dinner, there is a family restaurant - good value and okay food - about 6 minutes walk away. The seinenkan is located on a small island by a historic bridge. The views of the river inlet flowing into the main Lake Biwa is relaxing, lots of bird wildlife, and lots of rowers (the seinenkan is a water sports facility too). and the sunrise and sunset views are lovely. The staff are very kind. It cost me ¥5,500 for one night and I will stay there again if I have the opportunity.