We travelled to Kurokawa from Aso and were picked up from outside the tourist information by the regular shuttle bus as Yamamizuki is a distance out of town. As soon as we arrived the staff were very friendly and helpful. A lovely woman who spoke English showed us to the cafe and explained the ryokan as we had arrived early... More

Awesome rotemburo (easily the most beautiful one I have seen) by the river and waterfall. However, it was very very dirty and I could see tonnes of floating particles and we are not talking of leaves etc. only. I wonder if the onsen is ever cleaned by the staff ! Probably very dirty because it is also opened to the... More

This is not the first Japanese ryokan I have been to, so I believe I can this rate properties based on a fair benchmark. In general, the ryokan market in Japanese is so competitive that the room pricing is extremely efficient. A 20000 yen per night / pp property is not going to be better than a 30000 yen per... More

On the edge of Kurokawa onsen, Yamamzuki is a beautiful traditional Japanese Onsen Ryokan at the top end. It is not cheap - 2 nights for 2 in a Japanese style room with a private hot spring "tub" was around $US 1200 BUT this includes five star dinners and breakfasts (Japanese style). Some english is spoken - particularly by the... More

It was dusk, just before dinner, I was soaking alone in the hot water of the large stone ofuro, with the floor to ceiling sliding doors open to the stream and forest and waterfall vista. Suddenly I noticed a flutter of a large wing. A heron had landed on the bank by the water. He elegantly poked about, waded in... More

This ryokan was not my first choice in Kurokawa Onsen, but was offered to me as an alternative when my first choice fell through. I booked this ryokan with JapaneseGuestHouses.com, as most of the ryokan do not have web-sites and those that do are in Japanese. With JapaneseGuestHouses.com, you choose some ryokan that you like, and they will get back... More