Unzen Hanzuiryo in Nagasaki

Pros

Michelin 1 star
Very spacious

Cons

Priced $1000-2000/night
Room showed some wear and tear
Floor is not solid and ceiling shows some leaking
No bedside lighting
No towel bar
Carpet needs to be replaced
They removed TV from the bedroom
Also they decided NOT to offer Japanese style breakfast at the restaurant starting December 1, 2025.

They kicked us out when we were 3 minutes late for check out.
Old man who answered the phone wasn’t helpful and confusing
They have downgraded meals….10 varieties offered in 2025 instead of 13 in 2024. Please check YouTube and compare the offering.
Coffee machine is difficult to maneuver
They wrapped rice scooper with Saran wrap….we found this very odd, are they washing dishes properly? We never seen this practice ever in our lives.

We had the best stay here... large 2 story room.. lots of fpod breakfast and dinner.
Very accomodating and friendly staff.. highly recommended specially if you love onsen.

Absolutely top notch service, highest quality food and stunning views. Fine dining from a Michelin Star restroom served in your private room.

For our return visit to the area, we decided to try out Ryotei Hanzuiryo, the most famous and luxurious of the Unzen ryokans, and among the most renowned properties in the entire country. Hoping to snag one of the two Tokubetsu Shitsu (Special Rooms) with open-air bath, we called them 9 months prior to our planned visit (when booking online, they only start accepting reservations 8 months out.) For those of you wishing to stay in one of the Tokubetsu Shitsu rooms, they allow reservations a year in advance via phone. Due to its high prices (often over double the rate of Hoshino and Unzen Kyushu Hotel, both nearby), it does tend to have some decent availability if you plan even a few months ahead. Established in 1993, the "ryotei" in Ryotei Hanzuiryo stands for a place that serves high-end Japanese cuisine, which is not unlike the Auberge moniker attached to Western properties that offer gourmet dining. It really is the ryokan's claim to fame, and based on our dining experience here, it definitely lives up to its name. The 14-room property was recently acquired by Onko Chishin, the company behind Setouchi Retreat Aonagi, Iki Kairi Murakami, Goto Retreat Ray and Muni Kyoto, among others. While we were a tad concerned about the changing of the guard, we were relieved to learn the head chef was retained under the new ownership. In fact, just about everyone there were holdovers from the previous regime, with the exception of a handful of new hires that were brought in to handle communication in major foreign languages, including English. The 14-room property is nestled in a secluded area about 10 minutes away by foot from the central Unzen district (and the Unzen Hells.) The one drawback, however, is that this property is only offers in-room Onsen in the two special rooms due to regulations on the amount of Onsen the ryokan can draw from the main Onsen fields. From what I understand, the older properties in Unzen (Kyushu Hotel, Unzen Kanko Hotel, etc.) have first dibs on the hot springs and also make the rules. Hoshino Resorts KAI Unzen also has no restrictions since the rights were grandfathered in from the old establishment that existed on the grounds that Hoshino acquired. Although Ryotei Hanzuiryo does have a communal Onsen bath, for those wishing for in-room Onsen, the lack of them in the non-special rooms is a significant drawback. Whereas the more centrally-located Kyushu Hotel and KAI Unzen are modern buildings with contemporary decor, Ryotei Hanzuiryo is far more traditional - the buildings are sukiya style (a type of old-school Japanese structures) that beautifully blends into the lush surroundings, moss-laden gardens and Koi-infested ponds, giving it an incredibly peaceful vibe that is reminiscent of Takefue, Gosho Gekkoju and Wanosato. Inside, it's a mixture of Showa-era aesthetics mixed with traditional Japanese elements. Hanzuiryo's enormous guest rooms - even the standard accommodations offer 250m² of living space (here's looking at y

Style.
Sukiya style traditional buildings by Kyoto carpenters and artisans

Setting.
Unzen @ 2296 feet altitude, a place of dynamic geology & interesting history

Explore.
Steamy Unzen downtown and Jigoku only 13 minutes walk away, gorgeous nature walks and sacred shrines nearby, I was lucky to catch the end of the cherry blossoms

Rooms.
Only 14 duplex villas. I was in room hibiscus 芙蓉 fuyo, enormous @ 2700 square foot of calming spaces and huge windows, no in room onsen but my room had a deep hinoki bath and room was just across the hallway from one of the hotel’s onsens (higashi no yu), and I was able to birdwatch

@ the hotel.
Once past the gate and checked in completed in the book-strewn reception, you can walk around and check out the serene hotel grounds or enjoy one of the two shared milky sulfur hot springs. Hotel’s lovely personable staff can also organize hiking expeditions

Food & drinks
Kaiseki locavore dinner in the main building. One of the dishes was a French course. Breakfast was served in my duplex downstairs, facing the garden and was a fabulous feast

Prices.
$474 Villa only (includes breakfast)
$228 Kaiseiki dinner (before alcohol)

Rating.
4/5
Older hotel of 33 years, peaceful private hideout. My only gripe: my room had a faint moldy smell that I think came from the heating system

Winding mountain road a fifteen minute walk or three minute drive from Unzen Jigoku. Staff were all very friendly. My spouse speaks some Japanese but they quickly switched to the English-speaking Assistant General Manager Amira for the rest of our stay, and he was wonderfully attendant and accommodating. Beautiful location, quiet, spacious. Gardens and paths are immaculately manicured. The two-level suite was equipped with a staff mini kitchen (probably meant for in-suite dining and less for guest use), and was well-decorated for a guest house with small attentions to detail (water splashed down the rock with the freshly cut chrysanthemum, inlaid furniture). The private garden was a welcome sight. The view from the restaurant during daytime is somewhat breathtaking in the autumn.

Michelin dinner was wonderful and filling - well worth it if you will be coming all this way. They make your celebrations a little more special with handwritten calligraphy on beautiful long-fibered paper if you let them know in advance. Try the unique tomato wine, but they let you bring the bottle back if you don't finish, so we tried the smaller of the local wine & sake flights as well.

Finding the hot springs through the partially underground corridors was a small and memorable adventure. We loved our stay and would definitely love to return one day.

The best hospitality. The best food. For the best sake. And a hot spring. It's reasonably priced, but I think it's reasonably priced. By the way, Opus costs 80,000 yen. Don't you think it's cheap?

I heard the sounds of the mountains. I feel. A completely different world. It is easy to misunderstand that time, which moves slowly, is completely separate from the automobile society. And the best hospitality of the staff. I make sure that I always think about providing the best service. I can't find the right word, but “Mastery? "" Professional? "\ Great. As a person who is used to staying in a cheap hotel, I dare to notice that Wi-Fi cannot be connected. I heard the sounds of the mountains, is this normal? Besides, this is not the place to drink sake. Stay in one of 14 buildings, hot springs, food and most importantly, the best service. You can enjoy it to the fullest. This is such a 5+ star tourist station. Finally, I thank my sons from the bottom of my heart for giving us such a wonderful trip.

I was very pleased ❤️ Is rice in the top 3 at the hotel you stayed at? Perhaps the number of dishes was the largest ✨ Of course, the taste was delicious, the appearance was beautiful, and I loved the elegance of Japanese cuisine! ️ Due to the impact of Corona, the bathhouse in the west is a family bathhouse that requires reservations and I took it all night and I took both. It's expensive for me so I'm glad I can use GoTo 😆 I want to go back by January ❤️ Also , the garden is really beautiful and I can tell they are working on it... It was a cherished garden ✨

Excellent!! This is a villa, 2 floors, bedroom on upper floor and dining room on lower floor. private onsen. perfect dining experience, amazing fish dinner. our last trip to this hotel was 3 years ago due to covid. we are very happy to come again