The 10 best Ryokans in Kyushu, Japan

May 9, 2023 Kelli Reichel

Discover the best Ryokans in Kyushu including Ryokan Wakaba, Yufuin Yawaraginosato Yadoya, Baien, Itsuki, Hana Beppu, i+Land nagasaki, Sanso Tensui, Ryokan Wakaba, Yakakutei, Kannawaen.
Things to do in Kyushu

1. Ryokan Wakaba

6431 Manganji, Minamioguni-machi, Aso-gun 869-2402 Kumamoto Prefecture
Excellent
72%
Good
22%
Satisfactory
3%
Poor
3%
Terrible
1%
Overall Ratings

4.5 based on 149 reviews

Ryokan Wakaba

Wakaba Ryokan is a small and friendly,family-run Japanese- style inn near the centre of Kurokawa

Exquisite ryokan with private onsen

Reviewed By Elizabeth T

A very cosy ryokan just beside the river and close to the centre of Kurogawa old town. We stayed in room 105 which was at the end of the ryokan and very quiet and private. They have a public and family onsen. Need to reserve the 50-min private onsen in advance and it is open until very late. The public onsen opens at 6.30am so if you are there early, you will have the whole onsen overlooking a bamboo forest all by yourself. Very therapeutic. Fantastic breakfast too.

2. Yufuin Yawaraginosato Yadoya

2717-5 Yufuincho Kawakami, Yufu 879-5102 Oita Prefecture
Excellent
64%
Good
31%
Satisfactory
3%
Poor
2%
Terrible
0%
Overall Ratings

4.5 based on 143 reviews

Yufuin Yawaraginosato Yadoya

Yufuin Yawaraginosato Yadoya is an excellent choice for travelers visiting Yufu, offering a family-friendly environment alongside many helpful amenities designed to enhance your stay. Close to some of Yufu's most popular landmarks, such as Hotarumi Bridge (0.1 mi) and Yufuin Basin (0.3 mi), Yufuin Yawaraginosato Yadoya is a great destination for tourists. The rooms offer a flat screen TV, a refrigerator, and air conditioning, and getting online is possible, as free wifi is available, allowing you to rest and refresh with ease. Yufuin Yawaraginosato Yadoya features baggage storage, shops, and a gift shop. In addition, as a valued Yufuin Yawaraginosato Yadoya guest, you can enjoy breakfast that is available on-site. Guests arriving by vehicle have access to free parking. While in Yufu be sure to experience local okonomiyaki & takoyaki favorites at Bakudan Yaki Hompo Oita Yufuin or Yufuin Utano. If you’re looking for things to do, you can check out Yufuin Area (0.2 mi), Yufuin Onsen (0.6 mi), or Yunotsubo Kaido (0.2 mi), which are popular attractions amongst tourists, and they are all within walking distance. Enjoy your stay in Yufu!

Good Onsen Hotel

Reviewed By rpver

Very nice Yufuin ryokan located at the other end of town from the train/bus station, about a 15 minute walk. Advise using Google maps when walking around, especially after dark. It has both public and three private onsens and options for both breakfast and dinner. We stayed two nights and had the breakfast option. The two breakfasts were both very delicious and completely delicious different. We had dinner at nearby restaurants. The staff were all very helpful and courteous. The hotel was a bit pricey.

3. Baien

2106-2 Yufuincho Kawakami, Yufu 879-5102 Oita Prefecture
Excellent
59%
Good
28%
Satisfactory
9%
Poor
3%
Terrible
1%
Overall Ratings

4.5 based on 118 reviews

Baien

Looking for a place to stay in Yufu? Then look no further than Baien, a family-friendly onsen ryokan that brings the best of Yufu to your doorstep. The rooms offer a refrigerator and air conditioning, and getting online is possible, as free wifi is available, allowing you to rest and refresh with ease. Baien features a convenience store and shops. In addition, as a valued Baien guest, you can enjoy breakfast that is available on-site. Guests arriving by vehicle have access to free parking. Close to some of Yufu's most popular landmarks, such as Unaki Hime Shrine (0.3 mi) and Bussanji (0.3 mi), Baien is a great destination for tourists. While visiting Yufu, you may want to try some ramen at one of the nearby restaurants, such as Local Chicken Ramen Fukusuke. If you’re looking for something to do, Yufuin Area (0.7 mi), Yufuin Onsen (0.9 mi), and Yunotsubo Kaido (0.6 mi) are a nice way to spend some time, and they are all within walking distance of Baien. We’re sure you’ll enjoy your stay at Baien as you experience everything Yufu has to offer.

Authentic......but

Reviewed By Iain G

We had a confirmed reservation here for three nights on our travel documents. When we booked in they had two nights. It was our travel companies fault. The staff, especially Morachi? Were very helpful, and managed to get us the third night down the road. Anything else would have been a disaster. Room wise it was lovely, Japanese style, but due to the wood, very noisy, and we had to pull our mattresss into the living room to get some sleep. Breakfast Japanese style was amazing. Onsen was an experience well worth doing.

4. Itsuki

2652-2 Yufuincho Kawakami, Yufu 879-5102 Oita Prefecture
Excellent
75%
Good
16%
Satisfactory
5%
Poor
2%
Terrible
2%
Overall Ratings

4.5 based on 113 reviews

Itsuki

Itsuki is an excellent choice for travelers visiting Yufu, offering a luxury environment alongside many helpful amenities designed to enhance your stay. The rooms offer a flat screen TV, a refrigerator, and a minibar, and getting online is possible, as free wifi is available, allowing you to rest and refresh with ease. Itsuki features room service, baggage storage, and shops. In addition, as a valued Itsuki guest, you can enjoy an on-site restaurant that is available on-site. Guests arriving by vehicle have access to free parking. Given the close proximity of popular landmarks, such as Hotarumi Bridge (0.1 mi) and Yufuin Basin (0.3 mi), guests of Itsuki can easily experience some of Yufu's most well known attractions. While in Yufu be sure to experience local ramen favorites at Local Chicken Ramen Fukusuke. Plus, during your trip, don’t forget to check out some of the popular historic sites, such as Bussanji and Ogosha Shrine. Enjoy your stay in Yufu!

Quintessential Japan

Reviewed By HKAMOD

What a fabulous experience of Japan! Hot spring bath inside our room and traditional Japanese Tatami beds. The breakfasts were meticulously presented and delicious. Service - outstanding. On the day of our departure, we could not book a taxi or even buy bus/train tickets to Fukuoka. A staff member drove us to Fukuoka in his personal car. That’s 1.5 hours away by car!!! They would not allow us to pay for the trip! Such kindness and dedication to the customer. I cannot recommend Itsuki Ryokan enough.

5. Hana Beppu

16-50 Kamitanoyumachi, Beppu 874-0908 Oita Prefecture
Excellent
69%
Good
27%
Satisfactory
2%
Poor
1%
Terrible
1%
Overall Ratings

4.5 based on 148 reviews

Hana Beppu

A relaxing space where you want to stay over and over again warmly and comfortablyI would like to pick you up as "Welcome back" ...Provide beauty and health with women's eyes ☆ ★ All rooms non-smoking Free Wi-Fi ☆ ★

Great stay

Reviewed By lizcyni

We stayed one night in this modern hotel with onsen in the center of Beppu. It’s located five minutes away from the Beppu JR Station. Although its location is in the city center it’s very quiet without any noise from traffic outside. The hotel is beautifully decorated with bamboo theme which is a special product of Beppu. The lobby area looks stunning overlooking a beautiful garden. The whole hotel is floored with bamboo tatami which I think is very special. Footwear is not allowed in the hotel. The moment we entered the front door we were asked to remove our shoes. They even cleaned the wheels of the luggage. We took two rooms for four of us. The room is very spacious with separate toilet and a big bathroom. Amenities included a kettle for coffee and tea making and a capsule coffee machine. The free yuzu drink in the refrigerator tasted delicious. The complimentary traditional steamed buns with yuzu at the lobby with tea and coffee was a nice touch. Guests are given socks and a pair of loose fitting pyjamas outfit instead of traditional yukata. The onsen area is bright and modern. There’s an indoor and outdoor baths. The dinner and breakfast were great and plentiful. Most of the staff can converse in English. The reason I did not give a five star rating is because our room on second floor has an unpleasant sewage smell which I didn’t detect when we check-in. The odour was pretty bad at night. It could be due to second floor is next to the in-house restaurant. Overall we did enjoy our stay. I would recommend this hotel.

6. i+Land nagasaki

1-3277-7 Iojimamachi, Nagasaki 851-1201 Nagasaki Prefecture
Excellent
32%
Good
40%
Satisfactory
14%
Poor
6%
Terrible
8%
Overall Ratings

4 based on 400 reviews

i+Land nagasaki

New entertainment Resort has been arrived April 1, 2018! The Yasuragi Ioujima which has been loved local guests are upgraded with brand new concept and new style, with the name of the "i + Land nagasaki" - the total entertainment resort. Combined with "NAGI HOTEL", "KAZE HOTEL", "MINATO HOTEL" and PORT AREA, all guest rooms are partially or fully renovated. With ISLAND LUMINA, the very first night activity entertainment facility in Japan, i+Land nagasaki is famous for various activities and the SPA facilities. The Japanese restaurant URARAKA and the Terrace Diner on PORT AREA provides various cuisines, created by two Master chef in the Hotel, will satisfy your taste with fine dishes made by Nagasaki prefecture's seasonal ingredients. The Island is full of various activities such as SUP or sea kayaking, playing at water island on the beach, island cycling, Beach yoga and more could be enjoyed on the Island. The new facility - MINATO SPA Ganban Terrace is opened on January, 2020. And also new facility is up to come continuously as a Total Entertainment Resort!

Hotel and Onsen

Reviewed By artsuprt

We went to the hotel for the spa and onsen. There's one on the main hotel grounds and another across the parking lot. Very traditional and relaxing. The traditional dinner is a must have at the gorgeous restaurant with the view of the bay.

7. Sanso Tensui

601 Amagasemachi Sakuradake, Hita 879-4201 Oita Prefecture
Excellent
65%
Good
26%
Satisfactory
5%
Poor
2%
Terrible
2%
Overall Ratings

4.5 based on 94 reviews

Sanso Tensui

See why so many travelers make Sanso Tensui their onsen ryokan of choice when visiting Hita. Providing an ideal mix of value, comfort and convenience, it offers a family-friendly setting with an array of amenities designed for travelers like you. As your “home away from home,” the onsen ryokan rooms offer a flat screen TV, air conditioning, and a refrigerator, and getting online is easy, with free wifi available. Guests have access to room service, baggage storage, and a coffee shop while staying at Sanso Tensui. In addition, Sanso Tensui offers free breakfast, which will help make your Hita trip additionally gratifying. And, as an added convenience, there is free parking available to guests. Hita has plenty of cafes. So when you’re here, be sure to check out popular spots like Amagaeru and Amami Chaya Okubodai, which are serving up some great dishes. Hita is also home to Sakuradaki Waterfall, a popular waterfall that is not too far from Sanso Tensui. At Sanso Tensui, your comfort and satisfaction come first, and they look forward to welcoming you to Hita.

Beautiful setting, very relaxing, but pricey

Reviewed By Katuska64

Stayed at this ryokan in August. We came after two weeks of seeing many temples and castles, in almost tropical heat, in Tokyo and Kyoto and a number of places in between. So we needed the rest. The combination of the great ontsens, fantastic service and great food did the trick. It was a wonderful experience. My son and I stayed for two nights. We wore only the comfortable yukatas and went together to a private family ontsen which you can reserve (at no additional cost) for 45 minutes at a time. The price is high (one night came to over 50 thousand yen). We had a comfortable room, but without a private ontsen bath, either inside or outside. But when you count in the culinary experience, it was definitely worth it! Dinners come in 10 courses.. the second dinner had the famous Japanese shabu-shabu barbecue as the main course. We tried it before in a restaurant in Kyoto; definitely a highlight. You briefly boil raw beef or pork and lots of vegetables in water, then dip in a peanut or vinegar/soy sauce and eat. Heavenly! Sanso Tensui definitely gets huge thumbs up. Especially the very nice gentleman who spoke good English and took care of us all the time. Our friends and us seemed to be the only foreigners around. Most staff did not speak much English, but his English was very good. Heard a lot about ryokans before travelling to Japan. Now I can confirm, it is a very worthwhile experience!

8. Ryokan Wakaba

6431 Manganji, Minamioguni-machi, Aso-gun 869-2402 Kumamoto Prefecture
Excellent
72%
Good
22%
Satisfactory
3%
Poor
3%
Terrible
1%
Overall Ratings

4.5 based on 149 reviews

Ryokan Wakaba

Wakaba Ryokan is a small and friendly,family-run Japanese- style inn near the centre of Kurokawa

Exquisite ryokan with private onsen

Reviewed By Elizabeth T

A very cosy ryokan just beside the river and close to the centre of Kurogawa old town. We stayed in room 105 which was at the end of the ryokan and very quiet and private. They have a public and family onsen. Need to reserve the 50-min private onsen in advance and it is open until very late. The public onsen opens at 6.30am so if you are there early, you will have the whole onsen overlooking a bamboo forest all by yourself. Very therapeutic. Fantastic breakfast too.

9. Yakakutei

1-8 Hayatocho Togo, Kirishima 899-5115 Kagoshima Prefecture
Excellent
61%
Good
26%
Satisfactory
7%
Poor
4%
Terrible
2%
Overall Ratings

4.5 based on 231 reviews

Yakakutei

【From Kagoshima Airport】 By car or taxi: It takes about 12 min. Kagoshima’s landscape offers pleasant scenery all year round Hinatayama Onsen is a historic hot spring resort in Minami Kirishima Enjoy the hot spring atmosphere and the banks of the fabled Amori River at your leisure. A tranquil Japanese garden resides at the center of the hotel. Created according to the gardener’s meticulous design, the moss garden’s scenery is considered especially fine of rainy days.Enjoy eye-pleasing kaiseki cuisine made from seasonal Kagoshima ingredients in your guest room Have a special, memorable stay with classic cuisine and Kagoshima’s vaunted authentic shochu.

Very impressive hotel

Reviewed By oohuaxx

The Japanese-style room is very luxurious and comfortable, and you can enjoy a delicious dinner in the room. The hotel staff will introduce each dish very kindly while serving, which is a good experience. There is also an exclusive open-air bath in the room, which can relieve the fatigue during the trip at any time. This is a very good hotel, very close to the airport and there is a shuttle service, highly recommended for everyone. 充滿了日式風格的房間非常豪華舒適,還能在房間內享用美味晚餐,旅館服務員在上菜的同時會很親切的介紹每道菜,是個很好的體驗。 房間內也有專屬的露天浴池,能夠隨時的泡湯充分解除了旅途中的疲勞。 這是一間很不錯的旅館,距離機場也很近並且有接送服務,非常推薦給大家。 良いホテル おすすめです!

10. Kannawaen

345 Kannawa, Beppu 874-0000 Oita Prefecture
Excellent
56%
Good
30%
Satisfactory
8%
Poor
3%
Terrible
2%
Overall Ratings

4.5 based on 89 reviews

Kannawaen

Finding an ideal luxury onsen ryokan in Beppu does not have to be difficult. Welcome to Kannawaen, a nice option for travelers like you. Close to some of Beppu's most popular landmarks, such as Oniishibozu Jigoku (0.1 mi) and Geothermal Tourism Lab Enma (0.4 mi), Kannawaen is a great destination for tourists. As your “home away from home,” the onsen ryokan rooms offer air conditioning, a minibar, and a refrigerator, and getting online is easy, with free wifi available. Guests have access to a 24 hour front desk, a concierge, and shops while staying at Kannawaen. In addition, Kannawaen offers a pool and breakfast, which will help make your Beppu trip additionally gratifying. And, as an added convenience, there is free parking available to guests. While you’re here, be sure to check out some of the Italian restaurants, including Otto e sette Oita, Artegio Dining, and Ristorante Azzurri, all of which are a short distance from Kannawaen. If you are interested in exploring Beppu, check out one of the monuments and statues, such as Statue of Kumahachi Aburaya and Yayoi Tengu. Kannawaen looks forward to welcoming you on your visit to Beppu.

Decent luxury choice in Beppu

Reviewed By KI-NRT

Kannawaen is a hybrid hotel/ryokan luxury property that's centrally located and close to just about everything worth visiting in Beppu. Beppu is a renowned Onsen area, but is somewhat lacking in true top-end luxury properties. Kannawaen fits the bill for the most part, although it does not distinguish itself among the numerous luxury ryokans in other parts of Japan. Although it's in the middle of town, Kannawaen provides a secluded environment by featuring gardens with ponds, a teahouse, several buildings and even a Noh stage where performances are periodically held (although, sadly, not during our stay... most likely due to COVID-19.) It's a relatively expansive property given its location - it only features 30 rooms, although it appears suitable as a mega resort if it tried to be one. As with any top property, Kannawaen provides private Onsen baths in each room, in addition to having communal indoor and outdoor Onsens. Our room had a very nice open-air outdoor bath as well as an indoor wooden bath. It even featured an Onsen steam sauna, which was a nice bonus. Unfortunately, Kannawaen fell flat in several areas. We received a call from the manager just 2 days before our scheduled arrival, and he informed us that the room we booked (the top room called "Sora") was being renovated, so it was not going to be available to us. This was a big bummer. Sora is on the top floor and offers panoramic views of Beppu city, the surrounding mountains as well as the Ocean. Additionally, it's the only room where in-room dining is possible; all other guests are required to have their meals in the main restaurant. We were to be moved to a villa-style room called "Ume," which, while nice, wasn't the same. It was a stand-alone structure that was separate from the main building, and was a very spacious room with a nice outdoor bath, but was lacking of any view whatsoever. Also, I had to be very firm in our insistence of being served meals in our room, to which they begrudgingly obliged. To me, it was strange that they didn't offer in-room dining in the first place - especially in a room the caliber of Ume, since it wasn't that far away from the kitchen. If other ryokans can do it, Kannawaen ought to offer it as an option to more of their room categories. Aside from Kaiseki fare, Teppanyaki is also an option, although we chose not to try it out due to our desire to have adequate social distancing. Our Ume room was decent. it was cavernous in size, and the bath was nice. But decor was a bit odd and outdated; it was a mixture of traditional Japanese and 80s Western in furnishings. And, while they claimed the room was last renovated in 2016, it appeared more worn out than that. It wasn't particularly ratty, but was not shiny and new, either. Other issues - It took several calls to the front desk to get WiFi properly working, and even then, speeds were barely suitable for streaming Netflix shows. And, hot water was sporadic in both the shower and sinks, and took several trips by maintenance staff to fix the problem. Given that we were only there for 2 nights, this type of hassle was not exactly convenient. On the plus side - the staff seemed to care, including Mr. Sato, the manager. They really try their best, and mean well. Mr. Iwamoto, our designated in-room dinner server, was very passionate and knowledgeable, and did a great job explaining every dish in great detail; we really enjoyed his company throughout our time there. Food was very good. It wasn't particularly memorable, but take what I say with a grain of salt. We've had the opportunity of staying at some of the very best ryokans Japan has to offer, and while it doesn't crack the top 10, I would still consider it as a highlight. Overall, all of the problems we experienced were first-world issues. That said, the room rates are very high at Kannawaen (especially their top rooms) - we expected a bit more than what we actually got. It didn't help that our stay at Kannawaen was preceded by an amazing experience at Takefue ryokan, which we consider to be the #1 luxury ryokan property in all of Japan.

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