Yunoshimakan: A Historic Ryokan in Gero Onsen
When I decided on Gero (a hot spring town in Japan) as my main travel destination, my biggest worry was the accommodation. If I were traveling alone, I wouldn't care where I slept, but since I was traveling with my mom, I agonized over questions like, "Will this be comfortable enough?" or "How nice does it have to be for her to feel comfortable?" I was worried about the cost if I just blindly booked somewhere expensive and nice, but I was also worried it would be uncomfortable if I tried to save money. After a lot of thought, I finally decided to splurge on accommodation, unlike my usual trips.
So, I decided to book two of the best ryokans (traditional Japanese inns) in Gero. For our first night, we stayed at Yunoshimakan, which is located at the very top of the town.
When you arrive at Gero Station, which is a truly tiny rural station, drivers from each ryokan are standing there holding signs with their destinations. They have pre-printed sheets with the names of the people they are picking up, and the bus departs once everyone on the list has arrived. Therefore, if you don't tell the ryokan what time you're arriving when you book, you might miss the bus and have to walk, so you must reserve the shuttle in advance. Yunoshimakan in particular is the furthest ryokan, located at the top of the mountain, so if you miss the bus, you'll either have to struggle your way up or take a taxi.
My camera battery died and my iPhone was running out of storage, so I couldn't capture the ride up to Yunoshimakan on camera. Even though I couldn't film it, one thing I can say for sure is:
"It really goes all the way to the top of the mountain."
The car ride takes about 10 to 15 minutes, and the view looking down at the village and the mountains is absolutely stunning.
When you arrive at the ryokan, you are warmly welcomed by the staff and proceed to check in. Since people tend to arrive and leave at set times due to the train schedule, the entrance gets temporarily crowded. I figured the rush wouldn't last forever, so I took my time, and the crowd cleared out quickly. After checking in, the women get to choose their yukata (light cotton kimono). (Only the women get to choose. Men just take what they're given...)
Once everything is ready, a bell... girl? appears to carry your luggage and guide you to your room. (Our bellgirl spoke in a really soft, ticklish voice and seemed a bit coy.) As we walked, she continuously explained in English—without taking a single breath—where all the hot springs were and what hours they could be used.
I was surprised when she suddenly started speaking English, but thankfully, she pronounced her words very clearly, much like Koreans do, so it was easy to understand. Otherwise, I really can't understand Japanese-style English at all.
By the way, Japanican definitely mentioned there would be Korean-speaking staff, but they told us only Japanese and English were available. This is something to double-check if you're visiting and don't speak English.
Even after we entered the room, she didn't stop explaining. After the storm of explanations ended, we rested and enjoyed the welcome gift. Wow, the tea was really good. Even though we mostly stayed indoors and used transportation, my body must have been freezing, because drinking the warm green tea made me melt right into relaxation.
Yunoshimakan was built almost 100 years ago. The main building has such a deep history that it has been designated as a cultural heritage site.
It would make this post too long to write everything at once, so I'll just leave this as a teaser and write about the kaiseki (traditional multi-course meal) and the room interior in the next post.
In my case, I booked through Japanican. It seemed like they offered a bit of a discount, and since the site supported Korean, I had no trouble at all.
Japanican Yunoshimakan Booking Link
Other people might get paid to write posts, but I'm not, so you can just take this as me saying I tried it and it was nice.
The option I chose was a tatami room (Keisanzo) with a view bath, including a wagyu kaiseki meal. The price was 23,700 JPY per person, which is about 220,000 KRW. If you exclude the kaiseki, you can get it for around 100,000 KRW, but unlike other ryokans, Yunoshimakan is at the top of a mountain, so you either have to eat dinner before coming up or eat at the ryokan. Therefore, the kaiseki is almost mandatory. Fortunately, the kaiseki was top-notch (though I've only tried it once, so I have nothing to compare it to), so I wasn't annoyed about paying for it.
I didn't know this until I searched it, but the hot spring area in Gero is named Yunoshima, which is why it's called Yunoshimakan... Whoa;;