Hotels Near JR Ikoi No Mura Station in Aso

We are so happy we booked this hotel for heading to Mt Aso. First, the staff greeting was super warm and welcoming. The hotel is brand new and while our room was a great and functional design, the bed was the most comfortable western-style bed we’ve had in all of Japan! It’s location is super convenient if you arrive by train (it’s across the street) and while they don’t really have dining facilities, there is a fun outdoor market right outside where we grabbed dinner: meat skewers, mustard greens biscuit and a delicious craft beer (there is also ramen and a few other food choices).

A traditional onsen hotel, recently renovated and facilities modernised. The twin bed room is large - about 50 sq m in size. In addition, there is a balcony overlooking an excellent view. The breakfast and dinner buffet are fine, though not very special. I like the Japanese style dinner better. The hotel is situated inside the mountain. Access is not easy. There are no shops nearby.

I checked in with almost no expectations because there were many negative reviews on various websites. Some of the rooms and the front desk were being renovated, and the elevators in the building were protected by wooden frames, which made my expectations even more deflated. However, my friend had made a reservation for the first night with a kaiseki dinner, which overturned my negative impression. This was because the food was excellent, and the service of the male staff member in charge (the hall manager?) was very pleasant. I felt a strong desire for me to eat delicious local food. He also explained it carefully. In the assortment of two types of horse sashimi, I tried raw potato stems for the first time, along with the rare mane. Amakusa red sea bream sashimi, corn chawanmushi, red beef sukiyaki, Ishigaki pumpkin, takana rice chazuke, Aso milk pudding, etc., were all very delicious. The selection of two types of local sake after listening to my wishes was also excellent, and I consumed more than I usually drink. We were recommended Aso Shrine and its surrounding area as tourist spots, and were also introduced to horse meat croquettes, which we had as a snack on the last day of our stay, and it became one of our fondest memories. We were also grateful that they took the trouble to print out the information and provide it to us. It seemed that the group of six buses was all having the buffet dinner, and we had the kaiseki restaurant to ourselves, so we ended up staying for quite some time because it was so comfortable. Although the smell of the rooms and hallways was a bit of a concern, I would say that the low rating does not apply to the food.

Good breakfast and dinner The rooftop Onsen is great A few mosquitoes inside the room

It was a very disappointing stay. After checking in, when I was about to head to my room, a female staff member ran up to me and guided me, saying, ”This is it.” Please get on the elevator,” and ran away. I get on the elevator on that street, but I can't find a room even if I look for it. When I went back to the first floor, I found the same female staff member again. And when it's time for dinner, I try to leave the room, but the door won't lock. Even though the door should be auto-locked, it opens when you push the door. Maybe it's badly built, the key doesn't go in and it doesn't lock. When I called the front desk, a female staff member came immediately, but she said, ”Please wait a moment,” and left without a word for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes had passed, a male staff member finally arrived, but he said, ”We can't move rooms because they are fully booked. We will call a contractor to fix it.” Do I have to?” When I asked, he said, ”Since there was a canceled room, please go to that room.” For dinner, I had the ”Akaushi course”, but there were also extremely few dishes. Red beef is a small amount of beef about 2 x 5 cm thick and 5 mm thick, about 3 small bowls, and a little horse sashimi and sashimi. This is the first time I've had such a small amount of food at a hot spring inn. It may be good for small eaters. Also, the foreign staff brought the chawanmushi, but for some reason it was placed on the table instead of on a plate with a spoon for chawanmushi. As for the private bath, when I went early in the morning, there was a used toothbrush and floss on the edge of the bath. It's gross even if it's not in the corona misfortune. At checkout, not a single word of apology was given. Is it because I changed rooms that the matter has already been resolved? Is it just a makeshift lie that I will tell the staff at the morning meeting? This is my first time staying at this inn. It's unthinkable that a hotel can't be locked, and it's unthinkable to leave it alone for half an hour. It was fully equipped with safety box, too, but is problem before that. ”All users, please be careful.”

We stayed for one night from July 9 (Sat) and stayed with a couple in the Japanese style room ”Nikwa” on the third floor. The purpose of this time was to touch the nature of ASO and to feel the liberation and to soak in a hot spring with good quality of springs. The room was more modern and sophisticated than I thought and more than expected. It was a room that was renewed last year. What I was worried about was that the closet was an old Japanese house, and it smelled mold without lighting, and the mattress on the bed was a little too hard, and the view was not good even on the third floor. The bath was a pure source hanging water, which did not heating, water or circulation, and the hot water temperature was just right, and it was a very good quality hot spring as rumored. However, the size is small and there is no open-air bath. I also used ”taruyu” in the rental bath, but it was well maintained and very comfortable. The meal was ”red beef steak seat”. There were many items and all were very delicious, but I thought that the red beef of the heart was a little fat and the mountain woman fish was quite small. The service was made to be a woman from Nepal, but there were several points that I was worried about, such as vertically distributing rectangular dishes of incense. I think this is a problem of staff training. Overall, it is a very old established inn with a very historical style, and it is well understood that it is carefully maintained, and it is thought that it is a hot spring inn with a taste. I felt that the charm of this inn was exhausted by the word ”good quality hot spring”.

Old traditional hot spring hotel Big place with free parking You can book a private open-air box bath at the counter There are also indoor hot springs Suitable for traveling with children There is a small shop in the hotel and a children's play area. Dinner is a buffet and there is wagyu beef available for barbecue, but there are many people

The Western-style room had a good view with a golf course and a plateau overlooking the magnificent Mt. Aso Outer Ring. The room was comfortable with a sofa, chairs and tables and two semi-double beds. Actually, it was a large bath in a golf resort, so I didn't expect much bath. However, the hot springs were hanging from the source, and both the indoor bath and the four open-air baths (including the barrel bath 2) were all hanging from the source, and it was a good hot spring with a little brown hot spring. I checked out at 11 o'clock, but I was a little disappointed that the bath was until 9 am. The meal was a Japanese and Western appetizer, a cooking and a hot bowl at the restaurant. In the second half, the dinner was good with soft Kumamoto beef and seafood grilled on a ceramic plate, high-vegetable rice and miso soup, and delicious desserts. Also, the dining staff was kind and polite. Breakfast was a volume breakfast, probably because of a golf resort. After checking out, if you are trying to take a picture with Kumamon in the lobby, the staff will carry a large Kumamon to the outside by cart, saying that you should take a picture in a good place with a good view of Mt. Outer Ring in Aso. It was done. Thanks to you, I was able to take a nice family photo with Aso no Yama 々 and Kumamon. I was very happy with the kind consideration.

On the way to Aso Mountain by self-driving yesterday, there was a traffic accident in the barren mountains and wild mountains. Everyone was fine, but the car could no longer move. The car rental company arranged for a tow truck. I originally wanted to cancel the booked hotel, but the hotel actually said to pick us up🥹. As a result, the hotel took 1.5 hours to come and another 1.5 hours to go back. Originally one meal and two meals, they actually left dinner for us, very touched. In the morning of the second day, the hotel manager actually said that he could rent another car for us, and even drove us to pick up the car so that we could continue our journey. Their service is really good.