Sumiyoshiya

Everything was perfect. We loved our kaiseki dinner and our stay. It was the highlight of our Japan trip.

Highlight of our trip to Japan. The most incredible host that helped us during our stay. So polite, prompt, thoughtful, kind and considerate. From the moment we arrived she greeted us and helped us with our luggage up the stairs, every time we left she was there to give us a hand with an umbrella or send well wishes, and upon departure she was just so thoughtful. The location is perfect, just up from the fish markets and a short walk from the garden. The rooms are large. Although we had a private bathroom, we used the public bath which was incredible. We never wanted to leave. Our room was large, with hot tea and treats. Sadly we only had two nights to stay. It was by far our best stay in Japan, if not all of our travels. We’re recommending to everyone we know. Everything was absolutely perfect. We will stay again. On our way to the station we left our phone in the Uber. Mie Sumi wrote back to our panicked emails immediately, collected the phone from the Uber driver AND arranged shipping to our final hotel. All within hours of the phone being lost so we could collect before we go back to Australia. We are so so grateful and relieved. The hospitality was so amazing, we are in awe.

Located near the Omijo markets, the ryokan was an ideal location from which to explore Kanazawa. Our room had a separate bathroom and toilet, good air conditioning, and comfortable seats and futons. A good Japanese breakfast was available, along with Western options. The ryokan has laundry facilities and separate male znd female onsens. The staff are very helpful and the owner has good English. We enjoyed our stay there very much and would not hesitate to return.

If you’re looking for a traditional Ryokan in a fabulous position this is for you. It is close to modern shopping centres, a huge market and eatery area, the old Samurai district and the famous Geisha district. We had a large room with private bath and toilet. At first glance we were a bit shocked. Seem old and a bit tatty with not a lot of ambience. However the owner Mie Sumi brought the whole place to life. What a wonderful lady who could not do enough for us. She speaks good English and is never far away when help is needed. Soon we felt like we were part of her family living in this historic place. We were fortunate enough to have a traditional Japanese dinner for just the 2 of us. Amazing! Breakfast was simple fresh and just right. We did our laundry without any fuss. She organised transport and also had our luggage shipped to Takayama while we had huge day of visiting UNESCO traditional villages and travelling late to our next destination. This was a great effortless experience.

From the moment we arrived we felt welcome at Sumiyoshiya. Not only is the Ryokan lovely to look at, but the owner and staff are incredibly friendly and the rooms first rate. We had a room in the second floor facing the street, but from 10pm to 7 or 8am it was so quiet you’d barely know it was there. The room was large, light and airy with a separate ante-room and lobby. The futons were comfy and the quilts very cosy. We opted for the Japanese breakfasts, which were delicious. Sadly we didn’t arrange in time to be able to have dinner in-house, but it smelt good and, if the breakfasts were anything to go by, would have been great to try. Sumiyoshiya is perfectly located for exploring Kanazawa - it’s close to Omicho Ichiba market, the castle an Kenroko-en garden, while there are nearby bus stops for the Kanazawa loop bus (the hop-on hop-off service which takes you between sights if you don’t fancy lots of walking). The owner told us of a couple of nearby places to buy passes for this. If travelling by car you can stop right outside to drop bags and the ryokan even has a couple of private parking places around the corner (but there are really close paid parking lots if these are full).