Lalaca

Dinner was great, location is a good exercise. The staff are really nice. Onsen is cherry on top. Just be aware if you are booking a room with a shower or not.

This is a reasonably sized hot spring inn. The hot spring water was cloudy and highly acidic, but there was no sulfur smell. The food was made with pretty good ingredients. If I were to be greedy, I would have liked an elevator. Overall, I was satisfied.

Due to the nature of the Hakone Gora area, this ryokan is also located quite high up on a hill. So, if you try to reach the ryokan from Gora Station, I recommend descending from the hill. > Everyone stops by a convenience store before heading to their accommodation, right?! After exploring Gora, do some quick shopping at the Daily Convenience Store. If you keep walking to the right, you'll easily reach Lalaca. While the hill is challenging, I'm sure many people are looking for a quiet onsen ryokan, so I'd give it a very high rating. If you listen closely, you can hear birdsong. Since there are only a few rooms, you can't really hear people or the noises from the next room. The kaiseki was also excellent. I thought it was just excellent, but the ingredients were prepared with a variety of flavors and textures, so I had a wonderful experience without getting bored. Breakfast also came with a variety of side dishes, and it was a pleasant experience. The onsen was absolutely exceptional. Even after a short soak, my skin was soft and smooth from head to toe. It's the kind of place you'll want to bathe in every day. Thirty minutes might seem short, but you should definitely try the private onsen. You can enjoy complete privacy while gazing at the countless stars. Of course, there were some drawbacks. The staff were incredibly friendly and always ready with a warm smile. However, I was disappointed that they weren't perfect. For example, even though I booked the most expensive room, for some reason, they asked me if I wanted my luggage carried to the station during breakfast before check-out, but they didn't ask me. And even though they tried to figure out whether I'd like rice or porridge for breakfast the next day, they brought me the wrong food. While the service was excellent, it felt more like a guesthouse than a hotel. Still, the birdsong I heard while sitting quietly in my room, and the beautiful hot springs kept coming back to me, so I'd love to visit again.