Picking out a negative is very hard, so most of what I say is just being nitpicky but: - Getting to the location with a car is a little annoying as you have to navigate through the cramped neighborhood of stores with a lot of tourist walking around -It can be annoying when someone or a group uses the private onsen for too long or uses the one you want to try. There is a, I think, 45 minute limit in place per use. During my stay I was only ever able to try one out as the other one seemed more popular. - No milk or cool drink vending machines on-site. It's nice after a dip in the springs afterall. You have to walk off-site to the vending machines littering the neighborhood to get a drink - I forgot about this when I booked the place but remember that they charge a 150 yen Hot Spring fee when you check out. I can see people getting annoyed but probably your fault and not theirs that you didn't read the fine print. Hardly an issue for me.

I had a great experience at Hinoharu. The is free parking just outside and reception was pretty nice! The staff can speak sufficient English in case your Japanese is no good. Got a tour of the facility and was explain house rules before being shown to my room. Vary spacious, clean, and traditional looking. The bathroom was also very clean and spacious. Yukata and pajamas are also provided. The neighborhood is nice and lively but gets very quiet once the shops close up. A lot of food spots, souvenir shops, and neat stores all around. I honestly wished I stayed longer just to explore the town a little more. Nice view of the mountains too! Onsen/Hot Spring: There a 3 Onsens on-site (1 public-separate gender and 2 private). I believe the public male onsen is available 24 hours which is cool. Private onsen's are first come first serve and both have different looks. If you have tattoos, probably only the private onsens are accessible to you. Food: If you booked with breakfast and dinner included, the staff in charge of you will provide the times for each and you choose which ever suits you best. They will even call your room to remind you to come to the dining area. If you're a fan of traditional Japanese food, then you'll love what they serve. Dinner was served in courses with all dishes high in quality and presentation. Breakfast was just 1 set but even then it was high quality and filled me up without being too heavy. Overall, for my first Ryokan experience, I'd say it turned out amazing! Sure a night stay is expensive, but it was worth every penny.

Stayed in April 2024

Everything was great!!

Friendly staff.. Quiet and relaxing.. Location is great..food is delicious.. Rooms are nice clean and big

Stayed in April 2024

staff was attentive and helpful, food was delicious, room was comfortable. my family truly enjoyed our stay

Stayed in March 2024

Nothing.

Beautiful, clean ryokan with onsen in a central location in Yufuin. The staff were very attentive throughout our stay. The breakfast and dinner were delicious and beautifully presented. We had a great time and will definitely return.

Stayed in February 2024

Very nice location, very nice place, very nice host, very nice hot spring, and very nice food!

Stayed in January 2024

Rooms don’t have any view.

Maintenance is excellent.

Stayed in December 2023

The Kaiseki dinner was too slow to be served

The location and facilities are really good. Staff are also nice and try to help although they are not good at English.

Stayed in November 2023

Staff were friendly, tried their best to help, I feel so relax and comfortable.

Neat and tidy, simple and stylish.

Stayed in November 2023

Nothing

- Beautiful and quiet environment. - Appointed staff was assigned to serve us throughout our stay. She is very helpful, professional and tried her best to speak to us in English. We really appreciated her effort and service to us. - meals are beautifully displayed and delicious - comfortable room - love the private onsen - good location

Stayed in November 2023

None

Good hospitality

Stayed in November 2023

The service is excellent, very kind and friendly! And You have private Onsen and public onsen to choose, very nice.

Stayed in November 2023

Dinner was absolutely amazing - wonderful cuisine and great selection and menu. Onsens were lovely and not busy.

Stayed in October 2023

N.a.

Hotel staff was very friendly and accommodating. They allowed us to store our luggage after check-out as we explored the town more. The breakfast was yummy.

Stayed in November 2023

Nothing

Everything! stuffs so nice and friendly!

Stayed in August 2023

Everything was perfect!!!

This was an amazing experience, from check in all the way to check out. It’s a 10 minute stroll to and from Yufuin Station, a nice walk with shops along the way. We were greeted at the door by the staff, so friendly, nice and helpful, super easy check in process, immediately took our large baggage away to our room no problem. A staff member guided us to the room, introducing the amenities and the property along the way, he was super helpful and spoke very good English. He went through the offerings in the room and we were surprised to have our own Onsen in the room even though we booked a cheaper room. He organized dinner times for us before hand and our bags were waiting for us in the room. The dinner was multi course with local and high quality ingredients, it show case a bit of everything, from the sea, lakes and land. It was delicious along with great service. It was served in a separate dinning room with just us. The 3 private onsens were super nice, private and large and because they were only 11 rooms, they were not busy. The public open air bath were also very nice. The bed was comfortable with fast wifi and good AC. Breakfast was filling and was high quality as well. We needed our bags shipped to another hotel we were staying at, they arranged it no problem and the pricing was good. Worth every penny.

Stayed in September 2023

insufficient bathing area in private onsen

The staff are friendly, the food is very delicious and the places are clean.

Stayed in September 2023

the stairs leading to the in-room onsen

nice environment and comfortable stay. good for a relaxing holiday

Stayed in August 2023

None

The staff are very friendly and really feel like coming home！

Stayed in August 2023

The in room onsen was a bit too hot for us.

The ryokan was very near the main street. It was a beautiful site with very comfortable private bookable and public onsen. Everything was very clean and well kept. The food was a real delight. Erica was our host and she kept everyone happy throughout our stay, thank you very much.

Stayed in July 2023

Can’t think of anything

Meals ..breakfast and dinner were great !!! It had the feel of Kyushu.. local foods Onsen was nice .. went to all of them Very clean throughout the Onsen and very quiet

Stayed in June 2023

Excellent experience on Ryokan style Onsen establishment. Staff were super nice and the atmosphere really relaxing and calm. Onsens (private and public ones) were the heart of the relaxation. The meals were a fine-dine level experience. A food tour on Japanese cuisine and the dishes were really visually appealing and tasty!

Stayed in May 2023

The lobby is a bit small and not many public area to walk around inside the hotel. But that’s not a big problem as we spent most of the time outside.

Small but cozy. The staff are polite and helpful. There are a few hot springs that can be blocked for private use as long as no one is using.

Stayed in March 2023

The public onsen was under maintenance when we wanted to use before we check out. we can only use the family onsen

The staff are all very nice and helpful. My friends have food allergy and few staff kept reconfirm with me about the special arrangement. To cope with our schedule, the front desk offered us late checkout generously. The room was clean and cozy and foods were delicious. Location is perfect.

Stayed in March 2023

This was such a special time to spend with my 89 year old Japanese mother, this is her last trip back home, as we live in Southern CA., USA. The staff, especially Fujiko-san who was our primary server during our most delicious and amazing gourmet Japanese meals, was gracious and so helpful. The ryokan is elegant, private yet warm and so wonderful. Time seemed to stop and we enjoyed both the public and private family Onsen baths. Yufuin is a very special place and we could just walk out of the oasis, which is Hinoharu Ryokan, and right on to the vibrant streets, to explore the wonderful shops against the backdrop of the mountains. We found so many fabulous gifts for our family and friends to take back home. I love all of the artisan shops with their one of a kind gifts made throughout Japan. My Ojisan (Japanese uncle) was very impressed that I had booked at such a revered ryokan (rated top ten ryokans in Japan by "Travel and Leisure" magazine). I just feel so grateful to experience such a traditional yet modern Japanese experience. I almost don't want to get the secret out about this very special place located in such an idyllic town. I definitely will be back as often as I can bringing family and friends.

Stayed in April 2023