Hakone Kowakien Mikawaya Ryokan

Great place to be one with nature. We enjoyed the food, the service and the private villa . Loved the 2 hot tubs with naturally fed hot spring waters. One inside and one outside. The service was great. Regret 100 percent going to the buffet in another hotel. We felt it was a dangerous walk in the evening with no lights and the food offered was disappointing . Stay at the ryokan for all your dining. The lunch beef curry was delicious. Wish I knew what brand the bathroom amenities were. It made my hair shiny and skin so soft. The view everywhere was so beautiful with the autumn colors in November.

Great way to experience traditional Japanese taxation room. Private 'onsen' was great, but in room bath shower lacked water pressure so I had to turn the knob to cold water in order to get enough pressure. Other than that, it was overall a great experience. Staff were super friendly and food was also great. Would have been much nicer if they had a separate kids menu.

We stayed 2 nights at this ryokan and while it was overall not a bad stay, there were some things I wished were better. First off, the staff and service was very good, everyone was kind and acoomodating. The actual ryokan was also quite homey and comforting- it felt like a cosy home rather than a hotel. We booked the room "Wagyu & Kaiseki Dinner and Breakfast included, Open-air bath room, Annex, Non Smoking" and while we read the part about the open-air bath, we assumed it referred to the private onsen in this room. When we got there, we were a little shocked that open-air meant that the shower was also outside. This was probably our fault but I do wonder if this could have been worded better in the listing. It ended up being fine because we showered after using the onsen and it wasn't super cold when we were there in March, but it may be something to keep in mind if you are visiting in colder months. Also, note that annex meant lower/basement floor so there is no view from the room- this may be a trade off for getting a private onsen. The actual room was fine, maybe a little dated but it was one of the cheaper ryokans there, so you get what you pay for- especially with these types where breakfast and dinner are included. On that note though, the food was delicious and we enjoyed all of our meals here! Dinners are a set menu but for breakfast you can choose between a Japanese style and Western style menu. That was definitely a highlight. They also have nightly "all-you-can-drink" in their lounge for only 1500 yen. It was a simple set up but a good deal if you want to relax after a long day. The location wasn't bad but forwarning that the bus you take to get here from the train station is VERY popular and everyone takes their suitcases on this bus as well. So getting off was a very humbling experience as you are pushing past everyone with their big suitcases to get off. I also noticed we were the only ones that got off at this particular stop, so it may be that the more popular ryokans are further up the mountain, which made our exiting the bus even more tumultuous.

Our stay was phenomenal! We stayed there for two nights in one of the private villas in February. The outdoor bath had a view of snowy mountains and was incredible! The food was some of the best we've had and the portions were generous. Manna at the front desk was incredibly kind and helpful as well. Overall, I highly recommend this place!