My parents visit Japan at least once a year. They love it here! They spend time with me in Tokyo, often go to Kyoto and always fit in a new Japanese city to explore. However they have never stayed in an onsen ryokan and experienced the onsen life.

On their last trip, my brother and I decided that I would take them for an onsen ryokan stay . However my parents cannot stay in their accommodation for the whole day (they get bored), so I needed to take them somewhere, where they could also go exploring, have things to see and which isn’t so far from Tokyo. The last time, they were in Japan with their friends, they had a lightning quick trip to Hakone (and barely saw anything!); so I decided to take them for a night’s onsen ryokan stay in Hakone.

Unfortunately Hakone-Ginyu wasn’t an option as it’s not walking distance to the main area of Hakone. Another factor I had to consider was that my parents would not be comfortable with a public onsen, so I had to find one with a private onsen as part of the room.

In my research I discovered AURA TACHIBANA. A 15min walk from Hakone-Yumoto Station, Aura Tachibana is a modern style Japanese Ryokan. They have a lovely roof deck, two dining areas, a bar, a library, private onsens available for reservation and public baths.

The twin rooms, deluxe twin rooms (both maximum 2 people) & room with tatami area (maximum 3 people) all feature private onsens on the room’s balcony. As there were 3 of us, my parents and myself - I booked the ROOM WITH TATAMI AREA, which let my parents sleep on proper western style beds and I slept on a futon.

The room itself is very stylishly designed, modern & clean lines which is definitely appreciated. Having the beds for my parents was a big plus so they would have a comfortable night’s sleep. The touch of having the tatami area, gives the hint of the beautiful traditions of Japanese Ryokans, and is where two other people can sleep on futons. So it’s a great size for a family with kids, or a group of friends.

A spacious enough bathroom which leads out onto the balcony so one can enjoy a relaxing soak in the alkaline waters of your private onsen bath. My parents really enjoyed their first onsen experience!

Apologies I don’t have as many photos of our room, as most of them have my parents in it which for their privacy I won’t be posting. Please visit the Ryokan’s website to see photos of the rooms, especially because we had such horrible weather, it wasn’t so picturesque.

MY PERSONAL THOUGHTS

FOOD

A modern style of Japanese Kaiseki dinner, my parents greatly enjoyed and found the servings enough. However visually for me I missed seeing more beautiful Japanese ceramics or lacquerwear for presentation. The food was tasty and delicious as always, but I was left still a little hungry, however my parents were pleasantly full (which probably just means I’m a pig!). My parents really enjoyed everything which I’m glad of.The Japanese breakfast is served simply and again more in a modern style rather than traditional Japanese presentation. Dinner & breakfast are served in the restaurants not the room.

ONSEN

Lovely obviously to have a private onsen in the room, a decent size for one person - perhaps too small for two people depending. Very nice to have it on the balcony to enjoy the fresh air, however I prefer to have the onsen bath placed to actually see out the balcony, having it placed by the wall of the balcony did slightly spoil the ambiance. However it’s a good option if you wish to have more privacy for whatever reason.

The balcony itself was a decent size with lovely wooden decking and having the lounging chairs is always welcome. If only we had nicer weather.

ROOM AMBIANCE

The room is spacious enough and modern with clean, simple lines. Having the tatami area is a lovely touch to more traditional Ryokans. The wooden decor is lovely and minimalistic. Having twin beds was great for my parents and for anyone else who prefer beds over futons.

VENUE AMBIANCE

The interiors of the Ryokan are clean, modern and nice. Very good if you prefer this sort of Ryokan style more. I wish we could have experienced the Sky Deck, but we had such horrible weather so it wasn’t possible.

SURROUNDING AREA

Hakone as always has many wonderful things to see and experience, with it’s quaint shopping strip, pretty Lake Ashinoko, gorgeous parks and interesting museums. Always good if you wish to do some sightseeing and if the weather is being friendly… you may be able to view Fuji-san in all her glory.

AURA TACHIBANA FACTS (at time of stay)

• COST: ~ starting from 30,000JPY per person per night

• MEALS INCLUDED: Japanese or Western Breakfast (choose Japanese!) & Dinner - Modern Kaiseki

• CHECK IN/CHECK OUT TIME: 1400 / 1100

• PAYMENT: cash & credit card accepted

• ROOMS: unknown

• ENGLISH SPEAKING STAFF AVAILABLE

• WEBSITE: https://www.auratachibana.com/en-us

• IG: @auratachibana