Rakusuien

It was 2 days before Japan lifted the ban on sightseeing visits to Japan in early June 2022. I stayed for one night on my way to Nagano Prefecture. I booked this ryokan as I was curious to visit the Yumura onsen area that I had never visited close to central Kofu City as well as the modest price range. The ryokan is located south of the main Yumura onsen area in a quiet residential area. Reception was quick and I was shown to my room on the second floor. The room was quite spacious with a big tatami room separated by shoji sliding walls along a wooden corridor. At the end of the corridor by the window there was a table with two chairs. It was a style I had never experienced. I had arrived shortly past 3pm and went for a quick bath before engaging in some work on my pc. The onsen bath was of a modest size obviously because of the number of rooms they have, but very clean. The inside bath was a bit tepid but the outside bath was quite warm. I enjoyed the bath which I had completely to myself. Connection to their free wi-fi was quite good. The ryokan seemed to be relatively old but very well maintained. Interestingly they had a piano on the ground and second floor which was unlocked. The ryokan had a feel like I was staying at a European guest house. Dinner was served in the dining room on the ground floor. I was overwhelmed by the number of dishes already laid out on the table, but a couple more dishes such as tempura (fried dish) and stewed vegetables and fishmeal balls (stewed dish) as part of the kaiseki full course followed. There was nothing spectacular in the dishes except that they included many local vegetables and the number of dishes, which were good company to the beer and sake. The ryokan runs a separate soba restaurant, and the last dish instead of a traditional rice dish was a cold soba (mori). This was certainly good. Breakfast served in the same dining room was of a typical Japanese style. Contrary to some reviews complaining about cold baked fish, the salmon had been grilled on the table and was surprisingly unsalty. Beside the criticized natto and raw egg, the steamed rice was accompanied by egg rolls, potato salad, steamed spinach, marinated seaweed and pickles, more than enough to go with the steamed rice. Although they had few guests on the week day I stayed, a member of their staff was always at the reception, and all members were friendly and helpful. The price for the stay and two meals was slightly above 15,000 yen of which 5,000 yen was subsidized by Yamanashi Prefecture (subject to eligibility) as part of their efforts to support the local economy. I think I may revisit the ryokan when staying in Yamanashi. One word of caution is that the drinks offered by the only vending machine is very limited and there aren't any convenience stores close by, so best you bring some drinks with you,