Hotel Dengan parking di Shiga Prefecture, Japan

The location is very quiet and calm. For those who want a break from the main cities this place is highly recommended. The hotel picked us up from the nearby station and the communication was very active and accommodating (I emailed them when we were in Kyoto station in advanced and once we reached the local station, their shuttle was already waiting for us 🥹). Biwako Valley is near so it was our only planned big activity in the area aside from walking along the quiet road and trying convenience store food and using the 24 hour laundry place nearby. The food is very healthy and you will experience traditional Japanese service (they prepared colorful Yukatas for us and we wore them for bfast and dinner in their restaurant) . The private onsen was great and you can also use the public bath in the hotel itself. I cannot list everything but our experience here was truly amazing!

Gosh, where do I even begin? This stay was frankly perfect. The view was amazing, the open-air private bath was amazing, the service was amazing, the food provided was amazing. There’s even a shuttle bus from the nearby station. I loved it. My friends loved it. The staff even ran across the whole lobby lounge from the check-in counter, and did a full dive into the souvenir store counter for us. Most memorable icecream buying experience.

I really love the Grand Mercure brand; I try to stay at one whenever I visit Japan. They offer great value for money, with afternoon tea, late-night snacks, and extensive breakfast and dinner buffets. The on-site hot spring (onsen) is also incredibly relaxing. This particular hotel is located right by Lake Biwa. After exiting the JR station, you just walk towards Nagahama Castle, cut through the park, and you're there. It was so pleasant to enjoy afternoon tea, then take a stroll by the lake to watch the sunset.

The hotel itself is really cozy and service is good. During my stay, there was not too many people and relaxing. The quality of onsen itself is really good that make my skin so smooth for days. The dinner and breakfast food are fresh, except the dessert cake is really dry which doesn’t taste like any other Japan standard cake.

Yumotokan was our first stay at an onsen and first trip to Otsu and Lake Biwa. It blew us away at how amazing and wonderful everything was. We took a local train from Kyoto Station to Ogotoonsen Station. The views of the mountains on one side and the lake on the other were stunning and the shuttle service from Ogotoonsen Station to Yumotokan was much appreciated. We reserved two of the Kotone suites with their own private baths attached to our rooms for one night and we were not disappointed. The rooms included breakfast, dinner, and a hour later check-out time with the reservation. The staff were very kind and accommodating, helping us with whatever we needed (so glad we asked for help with the yukata! It became a cute memory for us). The rooms were comfortably spacious with a gracious amount of amenities and the attached private onsen baths were incredibly healing. We utilized them as many times as was healthy. Both the breakfast buffet and course dinner were amazingly delicious and something that'll be on our minds for awhile. Even our check-out was stress free and we were able to buy souvenirs from a little shop they had inside the lobby. I wish I knew what shampoo and treatment they use or where I can purchase it because it left our hair super soft and silky smooth, nothing like what we use at home. Our stay was amazing and we would highly recommend Yumotokan. We'll definitely visit again on our next trip to Japan, hopefully for a couple more nights!

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.

I like it very much. It is not worse than Yuyuanguan, and the price is good. The chef's cooking skills are very high. The decoration is a bit old-fashioned, and it feels like a Japanese drama. The hot spring robe is better than Yuyuanguan. The dinner is invincible and delicious! Wagyu! Mushroom rice! Sukiyaki! I ate so much! But the breakfast is not very delicious. The pickled cucumber tastes the same as in China. I thought I couldn't eat it far away from Shanghai. In the end, it tasted like the pickled cucumber and pickled radish at home. But it's very photogenic! There are all kinds of colors, but the taste is killed by the xiaolongbao, wontons and pancakes in my hometown Shanghai. The hot spring in Yuyuanguan is very comfortable! There is just an old lady who keeps coming in to clean the hot spring in the morning! I was scared and didn't care about the front and the back. It was so embarrassing!

As a long-standing five-star hotel, the overall hardware is pretty good. I originally booked one night, but the beautiful view outside the window prompted me to book another. However, there's one thing few people might notice: the hotel doesn't have a medical room, and there are few hospitals nearby with no emergency services at night. This is a heads-up for future guests to be prepared. My child got injured, and I wanted to call 119 for an antibiotic, but unfortunately, we ended up having to handle it ourselves with simple first aid. The front desk was cooperative, providing disinfectant, and tape instead of bandages. Luckily, we met some kind folks from Shanghai who offered comfort with their familiar dialect and helpful assistance in looking things up. All in all, it was a mix of good and bad, a memorable experience.

Thank you very much to Ctrip customer service Saga. I contacted him after I got on the train from Kyoto to Hikone and asked the hotel to pick me up. He solved the problem as fast as lightning, accurately, efficiently and with high quality! The public transportation from Kyoto to Hikone takes about an hour. When I arrived, I found the hotel's transportation bus accurately and clearly according to the notification. I was picked up by myself. The journey took five minutes. It was in the direction of Hikone Castle. It was not recommended to walk with luggage. It would be more tiring. If you take a taxi, it would cost about 700 yen. Half of the hotel room faces the castle and the other half has no view. The scenery facing the castle is very beautiful. I checked in on April 2, 2025. The cherry blossoms will be in full bloom after April 10. My room on the top floor of the 5th floor faces the castle tower, and the scenery is first-class. The room is not big. The other bed is attached to the wall and it is inconvenient to go up and down. It is just right for one person to live. The bathroom has been renovated. The room style is more old-fashioned, not old. The room without a view on the other side is smaller, and the check-in experience is poor. I booked a one-night stay and two meals, and Japanese cuisine for dinner. I think the quality is very good, but the duck hot pot tastes average, and the overall sincerity is full. The breakfast is simpler, there is no hot spring egg, but there are all kinds of freshly fried vegetable tempura. The breakfast is worse than that of Ogoto Ryokusuitei, and the dinner is about the same level. They are all hotels that cook very carefully, so you can rest assured to choose the meal package. The lounge has beer and juice, but no snacks. The male and female hot spring baths are not changed. The female baths are 38.5 degrees and 42.5 degrees, so one is too cold and the other is too hot. 41 degrees is better. The reason for giving one star for hygiene is: I found a green Japanese-style outer coat with oil spots and changed it to a purple flower one. This is the decision I regret the most, which means that it should not be worn without washing. After taking a hot spring bath in the afternoon, I put it on and drank tea in the room. I felt that it smelled bad. I picked up the outer coat and smelled it. I almost didn't send it away. The stench made me rush to the bathroom to vomit. It was the stench of people with severe bad breath sneezing several times at the clothes. This kind of clothes is not like a yukata. It is not changed for each guest. It is very unhygienic. The slipper cabinet is also smelly, and the slippers are a little sticky on the floor. I went to the hot spring again to wash it again and change into my own clothes, but the feeling of nausea was difficult to eliminate. The hotel will pick you up at the station at 9, 10, or 11 in the morning, and the staff are courteous and considerate.

This Japanese-style Marriott resort by Lake Biwa offers rooms on higher floors with direct lake views, and some room types even come with a private hot spring bath. I enjoyed the Omi beef dishes at the 12th-floor panoramic restaurant, and the breakfast selection was extensive and to my liking. The hotel also features natural hot springs and a heated swimming pool. There's a free shuttle service to Katata Station, and complimentary parking for those driving. Given the high hotel prices in Kyoto on weekends, the Lake Biwa Marriott, just a 30-minute drive from Kyoto, is an excellent alternative.