There is free van service when check in-out, no need to carry luggage from/to the bus terminal. But no service to the ropeway. Staff and service are the best. Location is ok, not near the ropeway but not too far as you can travel around the village. Ryokan is traditional style, good renovate. Good Dinner and breakfast. One thing to recommend in winter is it is very cold in many areas liked - Open air bath room -> Bathroom is too cold, living room is a bit cold. - Japanese-Western bed -> Bathroom and walkway is too cold, bedroom is a bit cold. - Hotel public bath and many areas are too cold. It will be perfect if the ryokan solve this problem.

One of the best ryokans we’ve stayed at in Japan. The location feels straight out of a Ghibli movie, with over 300 years of history and an amazing atmosphere. We stayed for 3 nights and enjoyed some of the best Japanese food each day at the ryokan restaurant. Since both me and my partner have tattoos, we booked the private onsen every evening through reception. The real highlight was the staff. They went above and beyond to make our stay special, spoke good conversational English, and checked in daily to ensure everything was perfect. Highly recommended for an authentic, cozy ryokan experience!

Excellent food and service at dinner and breakfast. The server spoke English and made the translation of ingredients and the hotel's history more informative, and in general, added a welcoming touch to converse about his experience. The staff was very accommodating and efficient in performing their duties down to carrying our bags to the parking area on departure.

It is an older, historic building and the baths needed some updating as in modest repairs to the wood screens and facilities. This is only a minor distraction. Also, the walls are thin so some noise from neighbors was intrusive, but this is not the hotels fault. Note, as you are literally on top of the hot spring, the smell of sulphur can be a bit strong.

The room I stayed is huge and have own onsen, which is very good for my partner as he has tattoos. The hotel is big and like a maze. I love all the public onsen in this hotel. Especially the 石風呂, the environment is super nice. The dinner and the breakfast tastes good.

However, I was expecting to have highest level of dinner set, which is having very good beef in sukiyaki. Because I saw in the official website, my room is serving the best set of dinner and having a bottle of sparkling wine as gift. And the price in booking.com and official website is similar. I wonder if booking the room in booking.com may level down the set.

This was an absolutely beautiful experience. The staff were so welcoming, making sure to patiently explain all the customs of using the shoes, tatami mats, yukatas, onsens. That made us feel very much at ease. They waited for us at the parking lot and took our bags up. The restaurant/meals were exceptional - the courses provided a moment to appreciate the food and overall, were a reminder to slow down. The onsens were great and peaceful. Keep in mind this is a more traditional ryokan experience at an older establishment, so ceilings will be low and meals are set courses at set times.

The only "unpleasant" thing was the temperature of the downstairs older hot springs. It was unbearably hot that no one, including other guests, seemed to be able to withstand the heat for more than 30 seconds. The wood smelled amazing and I wish we could've enjoyed it longer but it was much too hot.

I would recommend in the winter. So you can mix skiing with a relaxing Ryokan experience. Special mentions to the chef's diner and breakfast that were absolutely on top, and to the staff overall that bring a very high level of service, sometimes whithout you even noticing (we got our crapy hiking shoes cleaned out overnight, which made us shameful we did not had time to reach the hotel with clean shoes at the first place...).

While the premises are very nice, with an intersting building structure mixing Swiss Chalet and classical Japaenese vibes, I found the onsens a bit disappointing (Zao's water specifics being a blessing, the whole presentation of the onsens shall be "upgraded" to higher standards). I would rank this establishment as very good, still not the best you can find in Japan at this price point.

I would absolutely recommend this property to anyone! It is a little out of the way (1 hr bus ride from Yamagata station) but it’s well worth it. Two separate baths with two separate origin waters and a private bath you can book by the hour, and an outdoor bathtub in your room was really cool. It includes a very traditional dinner and breakfast using local specialties. Local sake selection for dinner/room service was also excellent. The staff was so polite and nice - they even carried our luggage to our room and picked us up at the bus station! Room was nice and big with seasonal nature sounds.

Our stay at Takamiya Ryokan Miyamaso was one of our highlights of our honeymoon! The hotel is insanely charming and very well kept. You can see it's an old building but it doesn't look old or worn down. The staff are friendly and polite, and greet you by the door when you arrive and leave the hotel. They were also very accomodating to us when we asked to keep out futons out, as we wanted to take a nap during the day. Dinner and breakfast was amazing and a lovely experience, it was delicious and presented nicely and staff was attentive and friendly. Our suite was amazing, and we loved having our own private bath outside on a balcony overlooking a snowy hill.

Nothing, everything was great!

Amazing 16th century Ryokan complete with Japanese clothing to wear. Enormous living quarters was unexpected. Great history with enough modern features to be functional. Allowed us to store luggage and carried it down the hill for us. Excellent onsens with clear explanation for use

There was no hair dryer but I didn't ask so you may have been able to ask for one. The steps were steep to the front door which would have been fine if it wasn't snowing.

Everything! Where it was located at the base of the mountain, the beautiful scenery, the timeless aesthetic of the ryokan’s history, and the ongoing relaxing ambiance from the river flowing through the town.

Honestly, we absolutely enjoyed everything. Takamiya Ryokan provides an elevated service that is truly worthy of nobility or royalty, yet they were all accommodating and sweet.