The breakfast is extraordinary, we are talking about a real Japanese breakfast. But dinner... dinner is an event in itself, nine courses, carefully designed down to the last detail. There will be dishes you won't know whether to touch or just look at. The location is exceptional, buildings surrounded by forest with a landscape design that surpasses everything you can see in the photos, I have traveled to Italy, France, etc, and this is the most incredible private garden I have ever seen in my life. In fact the entire building is like a museum. Anyone who might complain about "the bed" or "it looks old" is mistaken, is choosing the wrong place, that person may need a Hilton or another typical chain hotel. This is a building that is considered a heritage site in Japan. And the staff, the staff also exceeds all expectations of friendliness. We travel with two children, including one of 5 years, and it is not normal for so many attention, such as bringing a blanket - without asking for it - in case the child was cold during dinner. Sanyo-so was the best part of one of the best trips of our lives. EDIT. I just found that the Sanyo-so garden was designed by Japanese garden artist Jihei Ogawa, several of his works are registered by the government as an Important Cultural Property. And many of the buildings were designed by architect Togo Murano -recipient of the Order of Cultural Merit, considered equivalent to the highest rank (Grand Cordon) of the Order of the Rising Sun-. So no, this is NOT just any building, it is not a building for those looking for a typical Hilton, it is a masterpiece of Japanese design.

There are no complaints, zero, none.

This place was exceptional - everything from the hotel itself including onsen, the rooms, the staff, and the meals. If I could give it 20 stars out of 10, I would. We contacted them about our arrival time at the train station and a shuttle was sent to pick us up. We were then upgraded upon arrival (a very kind gesture as it was our honeymoon), and the manager personally delivered a beautiful fruit platter to us as well. The meals were included in the price we paid (dinner and breakfast), served Japanese style - five stars and amazing service. Our room was super spacious and had 3 living areas and a garden, we didn't feel the need to leave at all - the mini bar was refilled daily (beer and Japanese frizzy drinks) and it was so relaxing. My partner who does not normally enjoy the public bathhouse experience LOVED our private onsen and I'm very happy he got to try it out. The town itself was small and truly showed us Japanese hospitality at its best, friendly people who tried hard to communicate and be helpful and conversational despite language barriers. We did explore the town a bit, quite walkable or by bike and highly recommend Tsukushi Ramen (best ramen we've ever had - just Google map it) and also Toriei skewer bar. We will definitely be back one day.

Nothing. Don't change a thing.

Sanyo So is located in a large property. We stayed in the Deluxe room in the new building. The room has a sitting area right next to our own garden with a little stream. It was so private! The hallway leading to the restaurant has windows all along with views of greenery and waterfall, also lit up at night. A nice walk leading to the dining room, so beautiful! The Japanese garden was well maintained with a stone bridge, pond and ancient pine trees, a pleasant place to walk around. Both breakfast and dinner were traditional kaiseki style, serving food that were in season. Staff were fantastic and friendly.

The attached onsen was nice but need some updating, with the constant humidity and heat it is showing its age. This is the only negative of the overall stay.

It is a beautiful place reflecting all of traditional Japanese culture from facilities to rooms and food. Rooms are spacious, the private baths are amazing and food is exceptionally good. All the staff are very friendly and made us feel at home. It was such a bliss to walk around the peaceful Japanese garden and think about the history of the place. This was our second time at Sanyo-so and I highly recommend for families with kids and large groups. We could bot enjoy the public baths due to tattoo policies but even without it was an amazing stay.

The grounds were beautiful and spacious, as was the room, though it definitely showed some wear. Each meal we had was varied and delicious/interesting, with many different things to try. We loved the in room onsen and the views. The ryokan is located in a lesser visited area, so the area was very quiet and chill - more "small town" feeling (which we liked). We took the nearby cable car to the Mt Fuji viewpoint, which had great views and was uncrowded on a weekday.

We had to ask several times to have the futon set up, but it was because the room also had two western style beds.

Amazing facility. The garden is incredible and all the scenery is carefully designed and tended to in a way that really makes you appreciate the effort that goes into it. Almost like escaping into its own realm. Dinner and breakfast were both terrific.

I found this ryokan to be a little more corporate and hands off when compared to other ones. I believe that was aggravated by the fact that the staff was not totally comfortable with English. As foreigners who don’t know much about the appropriate etiquette it always felt like we were out of place and there was little to no guidance on the experiences. Also our room had very explicitly stained rugs, which were a big turn off for the whole experience.

We love everything. The staff are amazing and so helpful, especially those at the restaurant. My grandma enjoyed the food so much during our stay here and she said that was the best meals she had in our trip. Thanks so much for accommodating her with no seafood option. She loved it and I really appreciate. The room was spacious and private onsen in room was great. We all had good sleeps. Would like to come back.

The heaters in room need some cleaning as dust is quite heavy on it.

A wonderful Ryokan with a giant garden - the room was huge with a nice little private garden and a water stream - the private onsen was ready to jump in and is big enough to enjoy - The installation of the Hotel is unique and you have to be ready to walk some distances - The Staff was really nice and no problem to communicate with - Food is delicious and not in the big quantities as most other Ryokans

Since its not a family run Ryokan, the feeling is a bit impersonal. The restaurant is huge and even the food itself was delicious, the atmosphere is a bit cold. The drink menu is very limited and a bit overpriced. Be careful of the mosquitos in the public outdoor onsen.

very beautiful hotel, japanese garden and architecture was very nice, private onsen in villa was great.

no wifi in my villa and also cannot accomodate breakfast and dinner in our room. so we have to walk so long to reach the restarant for dinner and we lost our way to come back to our villa. In the morning, it was rainning and we have to walk outdoor so long to go to breakfast hall which is not suitable for us (traveling with 3 years old child) so we call to cancel the breakfast which the hotel cannot offer anything to this situation.

The room was so spacious and elegant facing a gorgeous private yard; the private onsen was wonderful. The public onsen was great too - I loved having both outdoor and indoor options. The meals were elaborate, beautiful and delicious and the service was excellent.

We had were given beds instead of futons on floor. The beds and the pillows were fairly hard and not entirely comfortable.