For the past few days Tokyo has reported less than 20 cases of new coronavirus infections in the city and although I was extremely nervous about heading to onsen... against my better judgement I joined my friends invite to visit Ryouzanpaku Onsen in Chichibu.
Natural hot spring... think they just warm the water flowing from the stream to 40 degrees and feed it into the indoor and out door baths
The room was old, dusty and lacked any bathroom facilities. Learned that Minshuku is a budget onsen that has communal restrooms, washing areas and baths that cost around 10,000 yen per night. If you want a Japanese hotel style room with all the amenities called a Ryokan then its about 20,000 yen plus per night per person .
Think we got the 1 night dinner and breakfast plan for 8,000 yen per person.
One drink included in the dinner so best to stop by a convenient store to stock up. There was a little fridge in the room.
Sooo many tiny options.
My favorite is always the maguro tuna.
Compressed sushi.
Super tender seasoned pork with a side of mushrooms.
Loved this fish... seasoned in miso and sooo flavorful.
Tempura
You close the meal with Soba noodles... they boil to order.
Rice if you need a bowl. The dinner was just too filling. Very nicely balanced.
Photo of the rather small dusty room.
Sat on the window sil and listened to the birds and stream flowing down below.
Breakfast is served in a large room.
Only passed on the fermented natto beans.
Hot plate to crack open an egg and 2 pieces of ham.
This is definitely not a romantic outing kinda place but looking at the guests during breakfast I saw mostly older couples and small groups that seemed to be on a company trip. During my Tuesday - Wednesday stay there were a total of 20 guests. Also not a place you can walk around and explore... pretty much stuck at the hotel.
Hotel: Chichibu Ogano Onsen Ryokan Ryozanpaku
Homepage: http://ryouzanpaku.net/
Jalan Reviews: Click Here
Address J: 埼玉県秩父郡小鹿野町般若260
Address E: Saitama, Chichibu-gun, Ogano-machi, Hannya 260秩父小鹿野温泉 梁山泊, 秩父小鹿野温泉旅館 梁山泊, Japan, Japanese, onsen, hot springs, foodie, yelp, tokyobelly, sony rx100, hotel, inexpensive, ryouzanpaku,