Mikasa Ryokan in Nara

Great, Nara was very comfortable.

The service and environment were impeccable. The hotel is conveniently located with a shuttle bus between Kintetsu Nara Station and JR Station. Situated halfway up Mount Wakakusa, the hotel offers beautiful views of Nara's nightscape, and I even encountered deer on the street outside in the morning. The onsen (hot spring) was comfortable and not crowded; it was perfect for going in the morning and evening. The only downside was that the kaiseki (kaiseki) breakfast and dinner were slightly lacking in variety and refinement. Offering a more elaborate and varied option for a fee would have been perfect. One particularly noteworthy feature is the option for children's dinner meals – a fantastic feature!

The hotel information center is located at Exit 5 of the Kintetsu Nara Station; you can wait for the hotel shuttle bus there. After check-out, you can choose to have the shuttle bus take you to the vicinity of Todai-ji Temple, and your luggage will be delivered to the information center at 11:00 AM. After visiting Todai-ji Temple, Kasuga Taisha Shrine, and Nara Park, you can retrieve your luggage from the information center. Dinner and breakfast are good.

We stayed at Mikasa Ryokan (万葉若草の宿 三笠旅館) in Nara, and overall it was a great experience — but there are definitely some things you should know and plan for in advance.
🏞 1. Location & Transportation
The ryokan is located halfway up Mount Wakakusa, with beautiful views over Nara city — the scenery is stunning, especially at night. But getting up and down the mountain isn’t very convenient.
At first, I thought the location was right near Todai-ji Temple and would be easy to access. Turns out:
The mountain road is very narrow and winding, and it actually takes longer than expected.
According to the staff, walking up the mountain is not allowed. There's a gate, and the staff inside don’t permit people to walk up.
Luckily, the hotel offers a shuttle bus up the mountain, but you should arrange it with the hotel in advance.
Once you’re at the ryokan, getting out isn’t very easy either. Even if you want to take a taxi, you need to book it in advance — it’s not like calling a cab from the street. So I’d recommend planning your itinerary carefully before you arrive.
While Todai-ji Temple, Nara Park, and Kasuga Taisha are technically just at the bottom of the mountain, they’re not within walking distance from the hotel, so you’ll still need transport.
🛌 2. Room Experience
We booked the Japanese-style room with a private open-air bath. I did quite a bit of research before booking:
Sites like *********** say the room is about 28 sqm (307 sq ft)
But Ctrip listed it as 56 sqm, which was confusing
After checking in, I think 28 sqm is probably just the indoor area, and 56 sqm includes the balcony, private onsen, and garden area.
The room is traditional Japanese-style with tatami floors and a low table in the center. In the evening, while we were out having dinner, staff came in and set up our futon beds for the night — a really nice touch.
This was our first time sleeping on Japanese futons. It was surprisingly comfortable, and the room temperature was perfect. If you're traveling with kids, this type of setup could be extra fun. 3. Onsen Experience
We tried both the public onsen and the private one in our room:
The public bath areas are located on the first and second floors, with men’s and women’s baths alternating daily.
They include both indoor and outdoor hot spring pools. The water is hot — after about 10 minutes, we felt totally warm and relaxed.
The private bath in the room was also very enjoyable. The garden had high fences and trees for privacy, and the tub was perfectly sized for two people.
🍱 4. Meals
We booked a plan that included both dinner and breakfast. One important thing to note — you need to confirm your dinner time with the hotel before arrival, because if you arrive after 7 PM, you might miss dinner.
Dinner is served in private dining rooms, which gave us a cozy and quiet atmosphere. The food was beautifully presented and very Japanese — including Wagyu beef and sukiyaki.
Breakfast was also very traditional — grilled fish, rice, and various small dishes. Personally, I prefer something lighter for breakfast, and there was no coffee, bread, or buns included.
If you want coffee, you can get it later in the lounge near the lobby.

very good

An older restaurant, well maintained. There is a dedicated connection point at Kintetsu, and the overall service is good. But the waiters in Taiwan Province are quite indifferent.
The point is that the food is not good, too formal, and the taste is not good.

This is my second time there. The accommodation is OK, but the Kaiseki cuisine is just so-so. It is suitable for a family trip. I chose this one because it offers free parking!

The service attitude is very good, the room is very clean and well-equipped, the hot spring is very comfortable, and the dinner tastes good. It is well received. Please note that the hotel does not provide toothbrushes and toothpaste. The shuttle bus time needs to be reserved in advance.

During our stay, we encountered the Yama Festival at Mt. Wakakusa in Nara. The hotel provided a shuttle bus for guests staying that day to go down the mountain to watch the festival. They also distributed warm packs to guests before departure, which was a very thoughtful arrangement.

The hotel is located halfway up the mountain and overlooks the entire city of Nara, with beautiful scenery. 

The scenery is beautiful, and the bed is more comfortable than expected. We booked a loft and two double rooms. The loft has a courtyard and a terrace bathtub, and the hot spring ends at 0 o'clock. There are a lot of tableware for dinner and breakfast, but they are too exquisite and I didn't eat enough. It's just average. The bathroom shower is also clean. The hotel provides kimonos for free. It's fun to wear kimonos and drink and chat in the room. There are Chinese waiters. If you bring your own wine, you will be charged a corkage fee of 2,000 yen/bottle. In the morning, after going down the mountain, you will see the deer park.