Arima Hot spring Ryokan Kotori

We enjoyed the facilities: cozy, clean and traditional. Even the shared bathroom was spotless! Very friendly ryokan staff.Nothing better than relaxing after a day of bathing in the local onsen in the futon. The room was very spacious, reminded us of Doraemon's house.The restaurant was amazing, above expectations. The staff were extremely welcoming and high quality food. All and all they made us feel at home.

Room was too cold and we couldn't change the temperature of the AC.

I was looking for an affordable ryokan experience and this fit the bill. Lovely, big room with comfortable futons. Nice view over the town. Was fun to 'dress up' and go for dinner in the adjoining property then come back for a relaxing private bath. The outdoor public bath is also lovely. Breakfast comes with instructions! I loved it but bland western tastes may differ.

Cash only for drinks. May have been a language issue but it was impossible to get a beer added to my room bill so i went thirsty. That was annoying.

Great staff, lovely amenities, inclusions (private onsen, dinner and breakfast)

Uphill climb to get there

I stayed for 1 night and opted in for breakfast + dinner inclusive. Everything about the stay was positive. The hotel sent a message via booking.com to ask about our arrival, preferences for dinner and bath times etc. so that the check in process was smooth and efficient. The staff were polite and even with limited english tried their best to accommodate our queries, including a request for shuttle service outside of their usual hours (they lock their front door between 10.30am to 3pm). There are less than 10 rooms per floor, so the shared bathrooms are no issue. There is also a sink in the rooms. The dinner at their sister hotel was less than a minute walk away, and the food quality was top notch! Breakfast is served at the first floor of the hotel and was also wonderful. Location wise, it's at the end of one of the main streets, so it's quiet while easily accessible to all the shops. Thank you Ryokan Kotori for a memorable stay!

NA.

Our stay was fantastic. We were overjoyed and surprised by the quality of the meals. The breakfast on site or at the adjacent hotel were totally delicious and traditional Japanese style. The dinner felt gourmet and was a five course meticulously selected local vegetable beef or seafood mix it was just fantastic. The room was clean and spacious and the staff were so friendly. The Onsen was private and very relaxing too.

The shared bathroom was not overly inconvenient.

The private bath in the room provides a private and pleasant hot spring experience.

The futon mattress not thick and firm enough.

Overall the stay exceeded our expectations and was enjoyable and relaxing. Kotori is very charming and cosy with the decorations throughout the building. The private onsen is great and you can book it for 45 minutes use. The staff are very helpful and attentive, and the rooms are well equipped. Dinner is in the sister hotel Hanamusubi which is a 2 minute walk from Kotori, and the staff were able to accommodate for my dietary needs, although they noted they cannot prepare food without fish so it may not be suitable for vegan or vegetarian dietary requirements. Breakfast is served in the Kotori building and is excellent too.

The only downside is the shared toilet and no shower in the building except where the private onsen area is, unless you have the room with the private bath. However the toilets are kept very clean and there were no issues with it being shared.

Absolutely beautiful Ryokan, my room was western style but very comfortable, the included private onsen time was wonderful. We had half board which was a Japanese style dinner, at a hotel a few steps from the Ryokan, this was amazing, food was prepared at the table. Breakfast the next morning was Japanese style as well. Shuttle collected our luggage on arrival and we were shuttled to train station on departure.

My room was not ensuite and the toilet was on the other side of the first floor, not a problem for one night. That cash was the only form of payment.

The outdoor onsen in the sister Ryokan was wonderful. Breakfast and dinner were fantastic. Clean and comfortable room. The futons were very comfortable. Pick up of luggage from the station when we arrived was very convenient, as was the drop off in the morning. Staff were uniformly excellent.

Minor points, but would have been nice to have an outdoor onsen at the accommodation rather than having to go to the other Ryokan, and also the option of a child meal.

Enjoying the sitting area. Onsen was very nice.

Hotel Staff seemed unfriendly. Dinner staff was great.

2nd time to be there; always joyful experience to take a nice bath and walking around the small town

Small little room with all the basic needed. Free coffee and tea outside of the room.Come with dinner and breakfast

The public bathroom is basically in next building. Short walk. Together with bigger onsen as well. If you like to take shower privately, book the room with private bathroom instead.

We were warmly welcomed by the incredibly accommodating staff, which made our stay all the more delightful. One staff member was especially engaging—we even got her to listen to Treasure with us!I also appreciated that they allowed me to use the public bath despite having tattoos. However, I was advised to cover them with tattoo stickers. A heads-up for tattooed individuals: be prepared to do this if you plan to visit an onsen.As for the food, it was absolutely superb! One standout dish was the baked pear with cheese and Kobe beef—an unforgettable combination that tasted amazing!

Good communication before booking and organised a bus shuttle to pick us up. We travelled in a group of 5 and one member of our family has a tattoo but they helped us organise a reserved area to enjoy the hot springs and it was very easy to organise. The Ryokan is on the smaller side however it makes the establishment feel more homey and more comfortable with lots of little wooden birds in cages and doll houses around to decorate the lobby. A great view of the arima mountains and a comfortable traditional tatami room was amazing. Also had a regular hotel room which was spacious and cosy. You can also experience Japanese television or link up YouTube to the flat screen tv. The onsen and kaiseki dinner is in their sister ryokan Hanamutsubi (1 minute away) so you also get to experience the fancy hotel dinner and two different spring waters onsen. the 7 course meal uses different ingredients from all of the prefecture including Kobe beef and every meal was amazing, something new or something traditional everything was exceptional. I also had an accident in the Ryokan where I had a smaller epileptic attack however the staff were quick to inform my other family members and make sure I was okay. They also called me an ambulance just in case and wheeled me in a wheelchair back from Hanamutsubi to Kotori Ryokan. All the staff will also welcome and say good bye to you when you leave and enter and are very polite and truly make you feel special.

The mini fridge turn on switch was hard to find but if there was a sign above it would be easier to find. But other than that small nick pick everything was perfect and allowed my girlfriend's family to experience real Japanese culture.

friendly staffs nice food

When check map, location is close and we thought we can walk there. end up need to walk uphill and make sure you book shuttle from hotel.

10/10 isn't enough to describe this ryokan. they deserve more!! They were very personal and knew we were returners. We celebrated our wedding anniversary here, and they made it very special. We want to come back to this ryokan anytime we travel Japan. They sure keep the pride of hosting guests in traditional way. Which, becoming hard to find in Japan lately. Beautiful, tasty dinner which is also celebrating the season, and breakfast was also beautifully presented. Private onsen time (45 mins) at the Kotori (sister building), Excellent onsen at the main ryokan. Great thanks for the shuttle services and personal welcomes.

Japanese style dinner & breakfast was delicious (⁠◍⁠•⁠ᴗ⁠•⁠◍⁠)⁠❤Private and public onsenVery polite staffThanks for staying in Kotori Ryokan (⁠｡⁠･⁠ω⁠･⁠｡⁠)⁠ﾉ⁠♡

Not all rooms have private toilet and showerPublic onsen in other building

No good is worth of mention. Bad experience in Japan ever.

Workmen especially of the lady worker, very disrespectful. First of all, know English but refuse to use it, highly inconvenient.also tease with colleague about customer accent. Second, after 10 pm, shut down the gate in front of customer, and refuse customer to use the bathroom. It’s bitchy of Japan people.And most of the important, you can see the black block flooting on the private onsent, highly not sanitation. I think this is good place to stay, sadly I made the most wrong decision.

Clean bright room. Private onsen at location. Two other types at sister location next door.

This place was the highlight of our Japan trip. We LOVED the tatami room (traditional room), the whole onsen experience with the provided yukata etc. The staff was absolutely amazing. The Kaiseki dinner was a once-in-a-lifetime kind of experience and the breakfast was really good too. We got a free minivan transport from the bus station too!It turns out Arima Onsen counts as a special one even within Japan as it has thermal water with very unique qualities - we were very happy we found the place by chance.

We really can't think of anything that could have been better. Yes it wasn't cheap (ryokans are usually not), but the quality of service and experience absolutely made up for that.