Sanjō: hotel con bar

My stay at Rankeisou was nothing short of amazing. I tried to look for a ryokan in different parts of Japan and finally settled on this, but it turned out to be so incredible that I’m so glad to have found it. The building and ryokan is almost 100 years old, but everything was new and comfortable that it felt so luxurious being in a historical place. I went at a time with snow everywhere and it was just beautiful even to look at it from the outside. The food was amazing, every meal rivaled even that of kaiseiki in Japan. The ryokan served everything from the local area- so I had lots of mountain vegetables, meat and fish from Niigata. The porridge cooked with onsen water was so so good. The ryokan does such a good job of showcasing the good produce of the area. The menu was even carefully explained in English. The onsens were equally amazing, both the private and public onsen. I spent much time enjoying them. Most of all, it is the kind hospitality of Ootake-san, the proprietress of the ryokan that made the stay especially memorable. She spoke and wrote perfect English, and was so helpful and attentive and went out of her way, I felt like I was staying in her home, instead of a public ryokan. I also could chat and got to know her, I had a really good time. I hope to be back soon as I’m missing it already!