Ajisai Onsen Ryokan - Award Winning Private Open Air Onsen

We had a lovely stay at this ryokan! It was my birthday and the staff were so sweet, upgrading us and decorating our room. The traditional room was comfy and a really fun experience. We had the traditional breakfast, too, which was hit or miss for us (I had fun trying all the different little options, but my boyfriend isn't the biggest fish fan and most all of the food was either fish or fish-y). It was great for doing the Freepass Loop, since you could get off at the end of the funicular, and then continue on and see the Open Air Museum the next morning on your way back to the train station. The highlight, as many reviewers already mentioned, are the private onsens <3 They're worth every penny for the hour you can reserve in each of them. They have three: an indoor onsen with a sauna, an indoor/outdoor onsen, and an outdoor onsen that looks like a mermaid grotto. The water is perfect, full of the sulfur that's great for your skin. Pro tip: The hotel is FAR (and UPHILL) from the Gora "city center" (if you can call it that, haha) and there is NO food available at the hotel unless you booked in advance with your reservation. But there is a restaurant up near the hotel, quite close (definitely walkable), that has AWESOME food. It's a mom and pop place decorated with vintage Americana and playing old American music. It's a total vibe, and the food is excellent and reasonably priced. The name is in Japanese, but the address is 1320-695 Gora, Hakone :) (see photos)

Calm and peaceful ryokan in a beautiful location. Three different options for private onsen, one indoor, one outdoor and one with both. Staff is friendly and speaks English which is a huge help for overseas travelers. The room was clean and had both beds and futon options, as well as a traditional sitting area. Breakfast was beautifully presented and featured a variety of flavours. We felt welcomed and catered to.

I really liked the traditional Japanese rooms and the private onsens. We tried all three of them! We also had a great experience with the dinner in the night and breakfast in the morning. It was quite different from what I have eaten before, so it was a nice new expierience. To come here you need to take the train from Hakone to Gora and then the ropeway two stations uphill. From there its a 5-10 min walk. If you have lots of luggage, maybe take a taxi from Gora would be easier.

Facilities were lovely - perfect mix of traditional and modern comfort. The onsen were lovely and easy to access.

Staff was really helpful and nice! The room was comfortable and spacious enough for the group of 5 we had. The onsens were well maintained and clean. It was easy to book and change our onsen time bookings to fit our schedules. I also enjoyed that they had lotions and toiletries at the onsen rooms. There was neftlix and eng TV options in the rooms. They had snack options to purchase (seeing as many of the stores close as of 5 / 6 pm and no convenience stores nearby it was really helpful).