Best Ryokan in Takayama Japan: Hanaougi Bettei Iiyama (Review + Comparison)

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Stop your search for the best ryokan in Takayama Japan — I know the perfect one! I recently stayed at Hanaougi Bettei Iiyama, an onsen ryokan that I recommend whole-heartedly.

Before settling on Hanaougi Bettei Iiyama, I researched for days to figure out where to stay in Takayama.

Why did I choose this particular ryokan?

It had everything I was looking to experience:

• Traditional Japanese architecture
• A private hot-spring onsen with views of nature
• Unmatched Japanese hospitality
• All within the city center of Takayama

That’s right, you don’t need to drive an hour up into the mountains to experience all this.

Let me share with you my full review and breakdown of the best Takayama ryokan as well as my research on similar nearby ryokans to help you book your ryokan experience.

Desired Features of a Ryokan (Checklist)

First, what is a ryokan? A ryokan is a traditional Japanese inn, one of the oldest forms of hospitality, dating back to the 8th century.

You’ll find traditional Japanese decor like tatami mats and Japanese futon beds as well as omotenashi hospitality and kaiseki multi-course meals.

I highly recommend staying in a ryokan because it offers you an opportunity to experience a traditional Japanese lifestyle.

This is even more crucial when visiting a place like Takayama, which is steeped in history and custom.

What to Look for in a Ryokan:

• Traditional Japanese decor: Are there tatami mats? Japanese futon beds? Japanese furnishings?
• Kaiseki meals: Are the traditional multi-course meals included in your stay?
• Omotenashi hospitality: Does the staff go above and beyond for their guests?
• Traditional dress: Do they offer yukatas or jinbei (casual kimonos) for guests to wear around the property?
• Onsen and communal baths: Are they private? Outdoor or indoor? What type of hot spring?
• Japanese garden and nature: Is there a garden on the property?
• Location: Is it in the mountains? Close to the city center? Urban or rural?

Why I Loved This Ryokan in Takayama and Why You Should Stay Here Too

Hanaougi Bettei Iiyama had everything I was looking to experience in a ryokan, and it delivered on every promise. It actually offered more than I was even expecting.

After all my research about ryokans in Takayama, I must confess that I first hoped to book its nearby larger sister property Hidatei Hanaougi. But they were sold out of rooms for my dates.

I’ve since learned that both properties are nearly the same, except Hanaougi Bettei Iiyama is much smaller with only 15 guest rooms, not 48 like Hidatei Hanaougi.

In the end, I was very happy with my choice, and I had the BEST experience. Here’s why:

It has private in-room onsens.

One thing I loved about Hanaougi Bettei Iiyama and its sister property Hidatei Hanaougi, which is just across the street, is that both ryokans offered guest rooms with private onsens.

What does this mean? It means that some guest rooms have a sliding door that leads to either a garden or a balcony with an open-air, hot-spring onsen. It’s not just a bath, it has flowing hot-spring water. And it’s for your own personal use during your stay.

Booking a guest room with a private onsen has several benefits.

• You don’t have to share with strangers. The number one reason to get a private in-room onsen is being able to avoid the uncomfortableness of being naked in public. You can’t wear clothes (or a swimsuit or bathrobe) in an onsen, so if you join a communal one, well, you’ll get an experience. Some people are okay with this, but for others who are shy, I’d recommend booking a room with a private onsen.
• You don’t have to book a time slot. Your onsen is right outside your room, for your use only, and you don’t have to jump through hoops to access it.
• You don’t have a time limit. Stay in the hot springs for hours, all night or all morning — as long as you can stand the heat. You’re not sharing with anyone, so there’s no time limit.

When booking an onsen, there is more to consider than just if the property has one. Here’s the details about the onsens at Hanaougi Bettei Iiyama (where I stayed) as well as its sister property Hidatei Hanaougi, which is a bigger ryokan right across the street.

• How many onsens on the property? Hanaougi Bettei Iiyama has 10 total, and Hidatei Hanaougi has 28 total.
• Are they communal or private? At both Hanaougi Bettei Iiyama and Hidatei Hanaougi, there are 2 large communal onsens (one men’s and one women’s). Both sister properties also have one general private onsen as well as several guest rooms with private hot-spring onsens.
• Are they outdoors or indoors? At both ryokans, one of the communal onsens is indoors and one is outdoors, and they are switched from men’s to women’s morning to evening to give guests the chance to experience both types. All of the private guest room onsens are outdoors, as well.
• Do some rooms have onsens for even more privacy? Hidatei Hanaougi has 25 guest rooms with private onsens, and Hanaougi Bettei Iiyama has 7 guest rooms with private onsens.
• What type of hot spring? The hot-spring water at both sister properties comes from 1,200 meters underground, and it’s a sodium hydrogen carbonate spring. Soaking in the water gives your skin a smooth silky texture, like a “rich beauty serum.” 

It has Japanese decor and suites with futon beds.

Hanaougi Bettei Iiyama has traditional Japanese architecture and decor, which you notice right when you walk into the property.

• Japanese gardens: The front gate opens to a Japanese garden with stone lanterns and bonsai trees.
• Tatami mats: Once inside you’ll be directed to remove your shoes before stepping on the tatami mats.
• Japanese cedar wood: The ryokan is made of famous Japanese cedar wood, and it’s tastefully decorated inside.
• Sliding shoji doors: If you book a suite, like I did, the rooms will be divided by sliding shoji doors and lighted by beautiful lanterns.
• Japanese futon beds: Our room had Japanese futon beds, which are put away in the closet until evening. During dinner, your host will take out the beds and arrange the blankets and pillows. How comfortable are the futons beds? This was my first time sleeping on a futon mattress, and I found it to be extremely comfortable. The fact that they’re stored during the day makes the room feel less cluttered.

It serves private kaiseki dinners and breakfasts.

At Hanaougi Bettei Iiyama, both dinner and breakfast are served in your own private dining room, which is near the entrance of the hotel. It will have your name at the door, so you know which room to enter.

You arrange with your host the time that you will be have both breakfast and dinner.

You can select a dinner start time between 6-7 p.m. and a breakfast start time between 7-8:30 a.m.

You’re also provided with yukatas and jinbei, which are casual kimonos, for you to wear around the property, specifically to meals.

Dinner

Hanaougi Bettei Iiyama serves kaiseki dinners for its hotel guests.

What is kaiseki? Kaiseki is a traditional multi-course Japanese dinner, consisting of a sequence of small dishes that are artistically arranged.

My experience: The kaiseki dinner we had at Hanaougi Bettei Iiyama was a 10+ course meal with more food than you can comfortably eat. Some foods you may have never heard of before, but I recommend tasting everything. I was pleasantly surprised by how delicious our kaiseki meal was. Plus, every dish was beautifully presented and many of the foods were local specialities. It was such a fancy meal that honestly made us feel special. Our dinner also lasted almost two hours, so it’s definitely something to savor and enjoy.

Sample menu: Here’s the menu of the first dinner we had. The menu changes daily, so take it as an example.

• Starter: Jelly of squash, minced and grilled chicken bean paste
• Appetizer: Edible chyrsanthemum with sesame dressing, boiled cod roe with crab paste, quail egg, fish and corn cake, grilled Maitake mushroom with carrot, boiled lotus root
• Soup: Dobin-mushi — conger pike, Matsutake mushroom, shrimp, Ginkgo nut, Japanese parsley
• Sushi: Hida beef rolled sushi
• Sashimi: Sea bream, red core radish; Fresh yuba (soy milk skin), sea urchin; Tuna, amberjack, angel prawn
• Simmered dish: Hagi tofu, yam, wheat gluten bread, bok-choy
• Grilled dish: Grilled black cod seasoned with soy sauce
• Entree: Hida beef steak
• Palate cleanser: Japanese soba noodles and grilled eggplant
• Deep fried dish: Red turnip tempura
• Rice / Miso soup / Japanese pickles / Dessert

Breakfast

Breakfast at Hanaougi Bettei Iiyama is a lighter affair, thankfully, as you may still be digesting dinner, like I was. It consists of just one course — they bring everything all at once. And you can leave as soon as you’re done, if you have a busy day planned.

You can choose either a western breakfast or a Japanese breakfast.

• The western breakfast has toast, jam, yogurt, eggs, bacon, tea, croissants, juice, salad, and fruit.
• The Japanese breakfast is a hoba miso set meal that has rice, miso soup, magnolia leaves grilled with miso, Japanese omelette, pickled cabbage and plum, salad, grilled salmon, boiled tofu / beef, and juice.

Vegetarians are advised to select the western breakfast since this is easier to be made vegetarian.

Dietary Restrictions

If you have a dietary restriction, inform the hotel via email well in advance so they can accommodate you.

For me, since I’m vegetarian, I let the hotel know and they prepared all-vegetarian dishes for me, for all TEN-plus dinner courses, which is incredible.

The staff also followed up with questions to make sure I’m able to eat milk products and eggs, showing the level of their care and concern.

Its location is close to the Takayama city center (and it includes a shuttle).

Hanaougi Bettei Iiyama is about 1.5 miles from Takayama Station, which is about a 30 minute walk or 5 minute drive.

Its location is in the city, so you don’t need to drive an hour up into the mountains, but it’s also well away from the city center, giving it a secluded vibe. It’s in a peaceful and quiet neighborhood, away from the chaos.

Shuttle Service

The Hanaougi Bettei Iiyama ryokan offers a shuttle service in the mornings and late afternoons to help you get to where you need to be.

We used the shuttle service every day, and since it’s booked on demand, we were the only ones on it, making it feel like we had a personal chauffeur.

It has outstanding hospitality.

All of the hotels I stayed at in Japan offered a kind of hospitality I had never experienced before, but the hospitality at Hanaougi Bettei Iiyama truly went above and beyond.

Traditional ryokans are run with the principle of omotenashi hospitality, which is a Japanese term that roughly translates to “genuine hospitality.” It means anticipating guests’ needs and creating a memorable experience for them — doing so with genuine care without expecting anything in return.

It’s quite incredible to experience this type of hospitality in person — at times it does feel a bit uncomfortable to have people do so much for you. It’s not often you’re treated like a VIP, so accept it with kindness and humility.

Here are some ways the hospitality was unmatched during our stay at Hanaougi Bettei Iiyama:

• Welcome matcha: We were given a welcome cup of matcha upon arrival, which was so unexpected! In our room, we also found Japanese treats waiting for us.
• Greeted by the whole staff: You’re required to tell the hotel your time of arrival on the first night, and it’s so the whole staff can be there to greet you with a bow. In Japanese culture, it’s customary to bow back.
• Personal host: We were assigned a personal host who spoke English. She showed us around upon our arrival and helped us with any questions. She also guided and served us during meals, sharing about each dish. Above all, she was a kind, sweet soul who made us feel right at home.
• Yukatas provided: In our closet, we found two pairs of yukatas to wear around the property and during meals. There was also an instructions card to help us put them on.
• Luggage handled: Without having to ask, our luggage was immediately taken to our rooms. When we checked out, the staff also helped us load it onto the shuttle bus.
• Shoes service: There’s a no-shoes rule in the ryokan in order to preserve the tatami mats. The staff take your shoes when you arrive and leave them for you in the front whenever you’re ready to head out for the day. (Pro tip: Wear slip-in shoes. I wore this pair of slip-in sneakers from Skechers my entire trip to Japan, and taking off shoes before entering traditional places was a breeze.)

How Long to Stay in a Ryokan in Takayama

I suggest staying at least two nights, but three nights is preferred.

I stayed two nights and would have liked to have stayed one more night to have more time exploring Takayama at a slower pace.

How to Book a Stay at Hanaougi Bettei Iiyama

I recommend booking directly on the Hanaougi Bettei Iiyama website because you’ll need to select your room type, guest genders (for yukutas/jinbei), and meal preferences.

When you book, you’ll also be able to add comments concerning dietary restrictions or other requests.

I have every confidence that you’ll love your stay at Hanaougi Bettei Iiyama as much as I did!

If your dates are sold out, try their larger sister property Hidatei Hanaougi.

Ryokan	Communal Onsens	Private Onsens	Number of Rooms	Distance from Takayama Station	Shuttle Service	Kaiseki Dinner and Breakfast	Yukatas Provided
Hanougi Bettei Iiyama	2	7 with rooms, 1 general	15	1.5 miles	Yes	Yes	Yes
Hidatei Hanaougi	2	25 with rooms, 1 general	48	1.5 miles	Yes	Yes	Yes
Futarishizuka Hakuun	2	0	20	0.8 miles	Yes	Yes	Yes
Oyado Koto No Yume	2	0	23	0.2 miles	No	No	Yes
Ryokan Asunaro	2 (indoors)	0	18	0.4 miles	No	Yes	Unknown
Takayama Green	4	0	238	0.4 miles	Yes	No	No
Takayama Ouan	2	2	167	0.2 miles	No	No	No

How to Get to Takayama from Tokyo

How far is Takayama from Tokyo? The drive from Tokyo to Takayama is about 200 miles (5 hours), but the way the train travels is about 300 miles (4 hours). So interesting that the train is faster despite taking a longer route!

The train route requires one stop and transfer at Nagoya Station. So you’ll need to purchase two tickets.

Step 1: Take the Shinkansen bullet train from Tokyo to Nagoya (1.5 hours).

I’m assuming most people will be coming from Tokyo, so if that’s the case, your first step will be taking the bullet train to Nagoya Station.

Some tips for booking a Shinkansen ticket:

• Reserve your tickets online in advance: Get your bullet train tickets up to 30 days in advance by booking on SmartEx. Why? It’s so much easier than having to wait in the super long lines at the train stations.
• Register and designate an IC card: After booking your Shinkansen tickets on SmartEx, you can designate each ticket to a specific IC card (SUICA/ICOCA) number. Doing this will allow you to board the Shinkansen by simply tapping your IC card (or virtual IC card in Apple Wallet). No need to print or pick up tickets. So easy!
  • If you have an iPhone, I recommend adding your IC card in Apple Wallet.
  • To get your IC number, you’ll have to also download the SUICA app (only a partial number is displayed in Apple Wallet). You will only need this app to get the full number.
  • You can add more than one IC card in SmartEx if you’re booking several tickets for several people (but multiple people can’t be on the same one IC card).
• Book a reserved seat: It costs a little more to book a reserved seat, but I recommend it, especially if you’re bringing luggage. Having an assigned seat takes away all the anxiety over where you’ll sit and if you’ll find seats together with your travel buddies.
• Get an oversized luggage seat: If you’re bringing a lot of luggage, definitely book an oversized luggage seat (otherwise you’ll have to lift your suitcase to the overhead rack). The oversized-luggage seats are assigned a luggage area for your use only. Unfortunately, other passengers sometimes place their luggage in this area despite the signs that say the luggage area is reserved. If this happens to you, you can move the luggage or ask an attendant to move it for you.

Step 2: Take the JR Hida Limited Express train from Nagoya to Takayama (2.5 hours).

The next step is to take the JR Hida Limited Express train from Nagoya Station to Takayama Station.

This part of the train journey requires a much different booking process than the Shinkansen, and it really stressed and confused me. I hope to make your time easier, so here are some tips:

• Give yourself extra time. I recommend leaving some time (at least an hour) in between train journeys so that you can walk around, stretch, and be sure to make the transfer to the next train. Japan is known for being on time, but anything can happen. Extra time will be helpful.
• Buy tickets online or at the station. You can purchase tickets for the JR Hida Limited Express online on the JR West website or at the station. If you’re booking online, under “Specify Train” select “HIDA/SHINANO(Osaka/Nagoya ~ Takayama/Matsumoto/Nagano).”
• Retrieve tickets at the station. Either way, you will still need to retrieve your tickets from the ticket machine at the station (yes, even if you book online). This was extremely inconvenient and confusing, so be prepared by doing as much research ahead of time as possible.
• Figure out which ticket machine to use. At Nagoya station, you’ll have to look for a ticket machine with a blue square that says “5489.” There was only one that was working when I visited, and it had a long line.
• Purchase both tickets needed for the one journey. You must get TWO tickets for each person when riding the train from Nagoya to Takayama — a limited express ticket and basic fare ticket.
• Print out instructions on retrieving tickets to have on hand. Here are the instructions for retrieving tickets reserved online. And here are the instructions for purchasing tickets directly at the station.
• Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Still confused? In case you are still confused, be ready to type some questions into Google Translate to ask a worker.
• Additional option: Pay with IC card and cash. If all else fails, you can do what I did on another Limited Express train journey. I tapped into the station with an IC card, sat in an unreserved car, and paid the attendant on the train the extra fare with cash when he came around checking tickets. A train station worker told us this was okay to do since the ticket machine confused us too much.

What to Pack for Your Trip to Japan

Comfortable and convenient footwear

You’ll likely walk a lot while visiting Japan, so a good pair of walking shoes is a must. However, one additional recommendation is make sure your sneakers are slip-in.

Why wear slip-in sneakers?

Many traditional places in Japan, including ryokans, require guests to remove shoes before entering. Shoes with a lot of laces are hard to get off. But slip-ins? A breeze.

• Slip-in sneakers — I wore this pair of slip-in sneakers from Skechers my entire trip to Japan, and it was so convenient! I didn’t even have to sit down to take off my shoes, like everyone else did. My shoes just slipped right off. I also felt comfortable in these shoes despite walking 20,000 steps every single day.
• Ankle socks — Be sure to wear ankle-covering socks with your shoes so you don’t get blisters with all that walking. I wore these Hanes ankle socks every day of my trip to Japan and didn’t get a single blister.

Favorite travel essentials

• I really recommend these compression packing cubes. They’re very thick and durable and allow you to pack more than you expect.
• I also love this travel backpack that opens like a suitcase, fits almost as much as a carry-on, and has tons of pockets as well as a strap to attach to your luggage handle. It makes traveling so much easier and more organized.
• I bring this AirFly receiver for AirPods with me on long-haul flights, so I can connect to the plane’s video screen with my own AirPods.
• I no longer hop on a flight without wearing my Sockwell compression socks because they really do help relieve/prevent leg cramps from sitting so long in one place. I have the lotus pattern, but there are other patterns to choose from, such as this cat pattern or this flower pattern. See all sock patterns in the Sockwell storefront.
• For Americans, I recommend getting the Capital One Venture X credit card to relax and eat free food in select airport lounges. I’ve had my Capital One Venture X credit card for a few years now, and accessing airport lounges is my absolute favorite perk of the card. Every lounge is different, but most have a buffet available where you can eat and drink to your heart’s content. The annual fee of this card is high, but it evens out with the $300 annual travel credit and 10,000 anniversary miles you get (on top of lounge access and free TSA PreCheck or Global Entry)!