Welcome to Arai Ryokan. This Luxurious Ryokan was built in 1872, and it embodies traditional Japanese style with its Japanese gardens, tatami mat rooms, and fine woodwork. There are 25 Japanese style guest rooms located in various private cottages at Arai Ryokan. A wooden bridge leads to the guest rooms, and the rooms themselves overlook either the Katsura River or the courtyard with its large pond full of carp. Arai Ryokan's cavelike bathhouse was built in 1933, and thick cypress pillars together with massive rocks surround its many hot spring pools. There are both indoor and outdoor shared hot spring baths as well as private hot spring baths in some of the guest rooms. Furthermore, there are saunas and a ""Family Bath"" that can be reserved for private use. Arai Ryokan has a teahouse set in a orchard of 3,000 plum trees, and from there a wonderful view of Mount Fuji is available. Arai Ryokan serves traditional, formal Japanese cuisine in the privacy of each of the guest rooms. Check-time is after 15:00 and check-out time is before 11:00am. Parking is available, and English is spoken.

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Ryokan Reviews:

• Very nice

  Peter

  Date of Review: May, 2019

  Month of Visit: May

  Country Of Reviewer: Australia

  Atmosphere Rating - 5

  Food Rating - 5

  Staff Rating - 5

  Location Rating - 5

  Room Rating - 5

  We stayed at this very nice ryokan in May 2019. Shuzenji itself is a nice town with some good restaurants though a tip is that most of the places up near the bamboo grove are for sweets (although there is a good little cafe that makes a nice pizza) and the places that offer proper meals are down the hill before the yellow part of the road. I mention that because we wandered about looking for a place for lunch on the first day then saw other people doing likewise, it would have saved a bit of stress if we had known where to look. In any event, we stayed in the room with a hot spring bath which was huge and very nice, it is built over the internal pond so much time was spent watching the carp and ducks. The tub in the room itself was a bit of a flop because it would take forever to fill, but that was no drama because there is a reservable private bath (which we didnt use), a private bath (which we did, it is nice), and then the segregated baths (both very nice with windows out into the pond below water level). The open air bath which is accessed via a passage under the road is particularly nice. The water is nice, not smelly. The staff are lovely. Our server spoke very good english so we had no issues there, though once you get used to a ryokan routine you dont need them to speak english to know the drill. The food is very good, from memory they have a choice of Japanese or western breakfasts though we always take Japanese, the dinner was kaiseke style and was in good portions, not too much and not too little. Wasabi is a local specialty so it features, I was tempted by the wasabi icecream at the place next door which is actually pretty good. All told this place is very nice. The surroundings reminded me a lot of Kurokawa onsen at Kyushu. I'd go back, maybe in autumn or winter to see how it looks then.

• My second visit

  Philip

  Date of Review: February, 2019

  Month of Visit: February

  Country Of Reviewer: United States

  Atmosphere Rating - 5

  Food Rating - 5

  Staff Rating - 5

  Location Rating - 5

  Room Rating - 5

  I first stayed at Arai Ryokan in 2009 and welcomed the opportunity to return again in 2019. From the very beginning of our arrival, Staff warmly welcomed us, explained very clearly the opening times of the onsen baths, let us select our meal times and clearly explained when they would need access to our room to set up the dinner and breakfast service as well as when they would lay out the futons in the evening and put them away in the morning. The overall feeling we had during our overnight stay was tranquility and kindness. We had time to wander around the area of the Inn and see the Shuzenji temple, the nearby Shrine as well as the Harisuto Orthodox Church. The meals were sumptuous and it was a treat to have them served in our own room. We used three of the baths and enjoyed them all, but our favorite was the open air bath. The evening we used it was a full moon, pleasantly cool outdoor temperature and early blooming plum blossoms. Attention was paid to every detail; our shoes had been warmed up for us as we stepped out for an evening stroll. Another treat was having ample seating and tables inside the inn where we could sit and enjoy the koi in the pond. We had a riverside room and the sound of the river made for a soothing sleep. I hope I have the opportunity to return again

• Thank You for welcoming us Americans so warmly

  Month of Visit: March

  Country Of Reviewer: USA

  Atmosphere Rating - 5

  Food Rating - 5

  Staff Rating - 5

  Location Rating - 5

  Room Rating - 5

  The best Japanese experience ever. Staff was warm, welcoming and respectful.. If you are looking for peace and tranquility you found the right place. xoxo Love US

• Great relaxing stay

  Month of Visit: April

  Country Of Reviewer: US

  Atmosphere Rating - 5

  Food Rating - 3

  Staff Rating - 5

  Location Rating - 5

  Room Rating - 5

  We arrived at the station and first tried to walk the "ten min cab ride" that turned out to be a mistake, though we did get to walk through very nice and beautiful back streets. Luckily a very friendly shop owner informed us that we were nowhere close and called a taxi for us. When we arrived the staff was extremely friendly and they answered all of our questions and helped us out with everything, we can't speak Japanese and some of their staff can't speak too much English but we managed with miming to figure everything out. The room was great and the atmosphere was outstanding we just loved being able to walk around and see everything, we were only there for one day and had to rush out the next morning to make our train so we did miss seeing any of the surroundings but if you have time I would definitely say stay more then one night to be able to enjoy this wonderful country side. The only downside for us was the traditional food, and don't get me wrong that's part of why we went here was to try out what Japanese traditional food is like, but it's definitely a shock to American taste buds so just be prepared!