Reviews of Hakuunsou

The room and area was quiet. Nice escape from busy Japan travel. The food was delicious and had a home made quality to it. The private onsen was a nice touch. Truly the highlight of my Japan trip.

The blanket was blowing dandruff or some type white dusty things when moved

Staff was super kind and helpful Breakfast was delicious 😋 Diner was amazing Very good English skills They were reactive to my questions on booking

The rooms were clean, spacious, and comfortable. Dinner and breakfast were delicious - especially the grilled beef with miso paste. The bus stops right out front, which made our arrival from Takayama and our trip up to the ropeway very easy. The outdoor onsen are beautiful and private, which was perfect for our family with two young girls. We had the place literally to ourselves (I guess July is not peak season!) so it was VERY quiet. We only saw one staff member the whole time but she was sweet and accommodating - even did our laundry for a small fee.

This was fine for us, but there is literally nothing to do. The hotel is not near any other restaurant or even hiking trails. The river is out front and you can hear it from the room, but down a big hill that’s protected by guardrails - no way to get down. But, as a stop in the middle of a very busy trip, and an opportunity to relax and recharge (and take a trip up to the ropeway) - this was wonderful

Hakuunsou, whilst being more “remote” from Takayama, was the perfect balance we needed for our trip into the mountains. The ryokan was quaint, and very well kept. The host lady was very kind, welcoming and helpful. The room was spacious and comfortable, and the onsens were magical! We found Haluunsou to be well positioned as we were able to access both the Shinhotaka Ropeway, and Takayama during our stay via the local bus.

If you are short on time, the location might not suit your needs. It was perfect for us as we stayed 2nights.

Excellent. The private onsens, the surroundings, the rooms and the location, everything was just perfect.

The owner was so nice and the onsen felt great! They made delicious food and the rooms were very nice.

The location is exceptionally tranquil, nestled far from urban noise and surrounded by nature. The sight of monkeys climbing nearby mountains adds a truly magical touch to the experience. The onsen is outstanding—particularly welcoming to guests with tattoos, which is a rare and appreciated feature. As tourists, we found the atmosphere deeply traditional, peaceful, and unlike anything we typically encounter. The service was warm and attentive, and the food was delicious. Overall, an excellent experience and great value for money.

There isn’t much to criticise here. While the property may feel slightly dated in terms of modern amenities—evoking a nostalgic 1980s charm—that’s part of its unique character. Its vintage atmosphere adds to the overall experience rather than detracting from it.

Very friendly host. Amazing outdoor private onsen. Hida beef dinner was perfect.

The loveliest woman took care of everything and everything was amazing. The food as well was exceptional! I loved the location, right next to the bus stop, but you have to love a quiet place.

The food was excellent, the outdoor onsen was amazing, and the lady who served us was incredibly kind and helpful (we left something on the bus, and she went out of her way to help us recover it). A truly lovely place!

A great host, with a very worm hospitality. A beautiful place with private onsens. The meals were amazing! We stayed for 3 nights and we highly recommend :)

Ready access to Onsens with no queueing, although it seems that maybe only three parties were staying on the night that we were there. Cherry blossom season is later at this altitude, which was a pleasant discovery. It is worth stressing this in the description of the ryokan. It would attract visitors to the ryokan, who could not make the peak cherry blossom season in earlier April. Good location for the mountains, off the main road (which was a bypass with little traffic, so not noisy). Close access to the Shinhotaka ropeway which went up to >2000m where it was snowing, while at lower altitudes it was drizzling. The Japanese food was very interesting, both dinner and breakfast.

Only one thing. The meat in the Hida beef meal was unexpectedly fatty, leaving a good deal of waste which could not be eaten. This had been recorded by another visitor's review, so it is clearly a recurring issue. We had had the same meal twice in Takayama a few days earlier in simple restaurants where the meat had almost no wastage. This was the only disppointment about the ryokan. Having hida beef again was a pleasure. Otherwise everything else, including the wonderful food, was perfect. Thank you to the lady who welcomed us and attended to us during oour stay. Very best wishes to you.

It was very calm and cosy stay, in a rural Japanese alps village. We were greeted with a warm welcome and a green tea, and the onsen were so relaxing and a bonus you could have them all to yourself privately per room. Our room was cosy and wonderfully traditional. And they were so accommodating with our little 8 month old.

You have to book the meals in advance for specific time slots which makes it tricky if you want to be less strict with timings.

Snow above the open onsen was amazing

Great onsen and tasty meals

Small but awesome ryokan with awesome staff! Main staff was able to speak very good English, and was very accommodating with requests, as much as possible. Really recommended to stay!

Nothing!

The room was very accommodating, the onesns were amazing, we didn't have many other guests so we entered whenever we wanted

Great vibe, friendly staff, amazing food. The room had a very traditional Japanese style and was quite comfy. The meals were great (both in taste and portions). Also quite close to the ropeway.

It was a littly chilly in the area where we ate food but it wasn't too bad.

Friendly staff and relaxing comfortable room. Onsen was fantastic.

Very nice welcoming

Staff is very nice and attentive. Futons are nice and comfy.

It's far away from the major activities, yes you can take the bus but there's very little to do around other than walking to the bridge. There's no possibility of dinning somewhere else near so you have no choice but to dine at the hotel, by the way the fold was not great, the Huda beef had lots of very chewy hard nerves. Breakfast wasn't better I was served an egg that looked like they forgot it was in the pan. The ryokan looks outdated with taxidermied animals in very poor shape, all ruffled. They only give you 45 minutes to use the onsen. I booked this ryokan for lack of availability in others but I wouldn't recommend this place.