Mizu no Kaori

The owner is very good and will come next time.

Excellent traditional meals and natural hot springwater onsen. Transportation from train station. Staff were friendly and helpful.

Wifi signal was weak in the room.

This place was a highlight of our trip. It’s located in the middle of nowhere, which can be either a positive or a negative depending on what you’re looking for. We personally enjoyed how quiet and secluded it was.The property is not fancy, luxurious, or pristinely clean—but it offers the warm and comforting feeling of visiting a Japanese grandmother who lovingly takes care of you. It has a family-like atmosphere, traditional rooms, a small but pleasant onsen, and traditional meals.Dinner was simple, high-quality, and delicious. Breakfast was also very good. As other guests have mentioned, the food doesn’t aim to be innovative or modern—it’s traditional, and we appreciated that.I celebrated my birthday during our stay, and for a small fee, they provided a lovely birthday cake. We also received a free ride to the station after checkout, which was a thoughtful touch.Overall, we truly enjoyed our stay. It felt very homey and welcoming.

This is a small family owned place, so you shouldn’t expect anything fancy, yet this is a good choice if you’re looking for something traditional and ‘home’ like. The onsen is not big and very simple but the water comes right from the local hot springs. And the family of course is nice and helpful when needed, whether it is a transfer to/from the cable car/bus station (the place is located a bit off the beaten track), or arranging a birthday cake for a personal occasion

Staff were incredibly lovely and helpful. They were able to give great suggestions about how to get to places and some of the ins and outs to Hakone. Some staff speak a bit of English, so keep that in mind (I speak conversational Japanese so that made communication a bit easier) The meals were very elaborate and delicious (it’s a typical Japanese breakfast and dinner so if you’re a fussy eater, maybe not up your alley) Definitely recommend booking the private onsen, very worthwhile to relax in the hot spring outdoors with the view of the mountains. Hakone isn’t the easiest to get around (mountainous, public transport is limited to certain areas), so the fact that the accomodation staff were able to assist with picking us up/dropping us off at Sounzan Station was incredibly helpful.

No complaints!

Loved it! We had such a great time, the hosts are so sweet and the food is amazing. Highly recommend booking the private onsen, it’s so nice being outside!

We really enjoyed our stay at the property. The staff were exceptionally kind and helpful. We traveled with multiple small children who were severely jetlagged and the staff really went above and beyond to try and accommodate. One wonderful lady even went so far as to hold our fussy baby so I could finish a meal. The onsen was lovely and I enjoyed that the one designated for men/women switched in the evening so that we could visit both during our stay. I cannot say enough about the quality of the food. It was absolutely amazing and every meal was an exciting new experience.As they say in the listing, the location is very difficult to walk to, but the shuttle runs every morning and as requested in the afternoon. I am a side sleeper with some hip issues and found the fouton uncomfortable. My husband and kids loved them though, so this could be a me issue. Our room did also have a regular bed that I was able to sleep in comfortably.

Amazing people running the hotel, excellent food and good onsen facilities. I would have liked to stay longer than the 4 days we had booked.

Nothing, it was a brilliant stay. The only improvement would be to provide an English description of the menu as we don’t speak Japanese.

Onsen bath with amazing water qualityBreakfast and dinner were very delicious and nicely preparedStaff and owner are very nice, welcoming and offering help

Location a little bit far from Hakone lake, however very convenient shuttle service to and from the hotel to next bus/cablecar-Station upon reservation by phone/message.

The breakfast and dinner were fantastic and we really enjoyed using the private onsen. The staff were really helpful and accommodating. It was a great experience

Very helpful staff - provided lifts to and from the station both when we arrived, left and went sightseeing. Great food; very varied and filling. Lovely Onsen.

The Onsen was smaller than I expected, but that didn't spoil the experience.

I love the staff great warm people.Food was always incredible the area was peaceful shuttle service and beautiful relaxing onsens.Room was huge and so comfortable.I what to go back asap really never wanted to ever leave. I love this place and their staff also.

Fantastic experience with a traditional feel. Would highly recommend. They provide a pick up service from the station and 2 meals (breakfast and dinner) a great way to experience local and traditional food. The private outdoor onsens is a must if you are a couple. We did this at 7am and was a beautiful start to the day before breakfast. The free onsens are also great and we both had the male and female onsens to ourselves

The futon mattress to sleep on was not at a all comfortable just be prepared for that

Beautiful Ryokan, adorable staff, private onsen, traditional rooms

The people running the ryokan are very accommodating and give exceptional service. The onsens are small but comfortable — it’s definitely worth the extra 2,000¥ to try the outdoor onsen in the morning or in the evening, the views are beautiful. The meals served for dinner and breakfast change every day and are always delicious.

The experience was great! Very nice tenants, room really big and typical, great breakfast and traditional diner. We had transportation delay and the tenants were very flexible and even picked us up at the closest station in order to be on time for the dinner

We wanted to sleep on a futon… so confort was what we choose:) but nothing negative about it

A good feel of traditional Japanese living . Dinner and breakfast was presented beautifully .

The location was not that convenient . The owner was kind to provide shuttle service . The accommodation is old but it has its own charm .

Food, staff, location

The ryokan was a little quaint hideaway on Hakone. The shuttle service from Sounzan station was great as I don't know how else you would get there. Loved how they have yakutas for both adults and children. The kaiseki dinner and breakfast was amazing - it doesn't seem like much but we were stuffed. The amenities at the onsen were great. It is a place for some r&r for sure. Staff were very hospitable.

The onsen was good but a little small. At most you can probably fit 3 adults. The location is also a bit harder to find so thankful that they have a shuttle service that can pick you up.

The staff were all very friendly and helped in any way they could. They worked very well around the language barrier and were very accommodating regarding the facilities. The gentleman that worked during dinner/breakfast was particularly helpful during mealtimes explaining the different dishes and organising times for the other meals.

The only issue we had was the comfort of the futons. This is not a criticism, however, as this is down to the different style of living offered in the Ryokan experience and was expected. It was still very nice to try a different way of living.