Mizunoto in Hakone

Not bad, pretty good overall, just the food felt a little perfunctory. The outdoor hot springs are great, and transportation is convenient with a bus stop just a short walk away.

Staying for one night with two meals for 2700 yen offered excellent value for money. The open-air bath on the balcony is not a hot spring; it's just hot water. There's one public hot spring and three private hot springs in the garden, which are the real deal. On the first day, I didn't realize our balcony bath was just hot water until I specifically asked the front desk and found out only the first and second-floor rooms have hot springs. For the next two days, I made sure to try all the actual hot springs, public and private, and experienced the beautiful scenery of soaking in a hot spring surrounded by snow. All the hotel staff were attentive and meticulous, and their English was good. The shuttle bus goes to Kowakidani train station, not the bus stop, so make sure not to get on the wrong one. Hope this helps!

The environment is great, but the staff's English isn't very good, and the food is pretty mediocre.

The guy who did the check in was super friendly and helpful. Our room was spacious and spotless. I was not too well to go out but the place had every thing I need for relaxing and recovery.

The food was quite mediocre, and the location was inconvenient, but the service was very good.

Coming to Hakone in winter, hot springs are a must! My top choice is definitely a room with a private onsen, perfect for a peaceful moment for two. The private bath is a bit small, just right for one person to soak comfortably. The view from the balcony is beautiful, with lush green maple leaves layered with red and yellow. Dinner and breakfast were decent. However, the sink in the bathroom and the one in the room are quite old. Also, the towels provided in the room are too few and very thin; they weren't enough and weren't very good quality.

A very nice Kaiseki Food at Dinner.
And enjoy very much for a private onzen.

I could sense a rouch of natire here.

Highly recommend for a couple.

I didn’t like the meals, but everything else was fine

Enjoyed the hotel and loved our room! The staff were friendly and we liked all the meals. The free ramen at night was okay but otherwise the other snacks were great. The private ryokans are generally easy to get into, as most people don't stay long.

My second stay in this hotel, staffs are friendly, foods are great.

For those who is coming the first time, please take the train from station 51 and get off at station 55 (Kowakidani).

From station 55, you can either
1) walk for 15 mins to the hotel
Or 2) take the mini 10 seats shuttle bus from 2-5 pm (every 10-15 mins), just wait at the exit. If you need a pick up outside of this time, call the hotel and they will pick you up (a local Japanese phone number in the picture attached)