Date: Sep/2025
United States (Female, age 50-59)
Individual:
Guestroom 5, Baths 5, Meals 5, Location 5, Reception & Service 5
Plan:
Rental House, No Meals
Beautiful Traditional House
We loved staying here by the river, feeding the birds, eating at the owner's phenomenal diner, and shopping at the charming grocery store! Only complaint would be the futons are THIN...could have used a couple more to stack up :) I think in hindsight I would have packed my backpacking blow up mattress for added comfort.
Date: Jun/2025
Australia (Male, age **)
Individual:
Guestroom 5, Baths -, Meals -, Location 5, Reception & Service 5
Plan:
Rental House, No Meals
Guesthouse Mui hongu
Date: Dec/2024
New Zealand (Female, age 50-59)
Individual:
Guestroom 5, Baths 5, Meals -, Location 5, Reception & Service 5
Plan:
Rental House, No Meals
Second stay as good as the first!
We couldn't get 6 nights' consecutive stay as one night was booked, so we moved to Yunomine Onsen for one night and came back for another two nights. Manabu let us store our bags in the staff room so it was easy to take a day bag to Yunomine Onsen. I reviewed the house in my previous review. I forgot to mention that Wataze Onsen is a great location to base yourself for the entire Kumano Kodo walk, or other activities. We planned to do the Kumano Kodo walk from Wataze Onsen, taking buses to the track each day. The flexibility that this allowed meant that we didn't have to walk a really rainy day, and if we felt tired we could change our mind and do a highlight walk rather than a 19 km walk! I didn't realise when booking that this flexibility would be so important to our enjoyment of the walk, and I am really glad I booked 5 nights here for the flexibility alone! (See my other review for how awesome the house is!)
Date: Dec/2024
New Zealand (Female, age 50-59)
Individual:
Guestroom 5, Baths 5, Meals -, Location 5, Reception & Service 5
Plan:
Rental House, No Meals
Can't say enough good things in this review!
This accommodation was the highlight of our trip. We stayed for five nights and could have stayed longer! Manabu is an extremely good host and we were very well taken care of with snacks and daily morning rice balls with kind messages. The house has lots of character and is quirky. Watching the sun and the birds in the morning was great. Buses go everywhere from Wataze Onsen, and it looks like a great place for summer with the river and its multiple swimming holes easily accessed from the house. It was pretty difficult to find a well-stocked grocery store without a car (the local supermarket is conveniently located but you couldn't get much there) so we luckily had shopped in Chikatsuyu-oji before arriving. The kitchen had everything you need for cooking. Futons were quality and comfortable, and there is enough heating to keep us warm in December. The Kumano Kodo shuttle service picked up our bags from the entrance when we left. We absolutely loved this experience and would come back again!
Date: Nov/2024
United States (Female, age 30-39)
Individual:
Guestroom 5, Baths 5, Meals 5, Location 5, Reception & Service 5
Plan:
Rental House, No Meals
WOW SO COOL
This was one of the most unique and interesting houses we stayed at. Walking distance from a public onsen this house is like stepping back in time. We loved seeing all the historic moments in this house. It's rustic for sure if you're used to hotels but there is no beating a chance to stay in such a piece of history. We went to the owners Yakitori restaurant for dinner and had WAY too many skewers...they were just too good. Unique stay <3
Date: Oct/2024
Taiwan (Male, age 30-39)
Individual:
Guestroom 4, Baths 4, Meals -, Location 5, Reception & Service 5
Plan:
Rental House, No Meals
Mosquitoes
There are a lot of mosquitoes, but since it is a traditional Japanese house and the environment is natural, it is understandable. The boss's reception was very cordial. Considering that there were men and women, he provided another room for use. The kitchen and supplies are complete, and you can also cook by yourself.
Date: Sep/2024
Australia (Male, age **)
Individual:
Guestroom 5, Baths -, Meals 5, Location 5, Reception & Service 5
Plan:
Rental House, No Meals
- No subject -
This beautiful authentic Japanese family house is so different from usual ryokan. It’s in a peaceful natural location with many facilities and is about 500 meters from good onsen. Host was most accommodating and he runs an outstanding yakatori restaurant next door. I wish we had have booked 2 days.
Date: Mar/2024
Sweden (Male, age 50-59)
Individual:
Guestroom 5, Baths 4, Meals -, Location 5, Reception & Service 4
Plan:
Rental House, No Meals
Very good
A very good place to stay and a fantastic old house with a lot of history. The yakitori that we had in the evening was so good that it became one of our highest ranked meals during our three weeks in Japan and as a bonus we got onigris in the morning.
Date: Apr/2020
Germany (Female, age 20-29)
Individual:
Guestroom 5, Baths 5, Meals 5, Location 5, Reception & Service 5
Plan:
Rental House, No Meals
Great guesthouse!
We felt very comfortable in this beautiful guesthouse. Our host is very friendly. We also had very delicious meals at the nearby restaurant of our host. We had a great stay there.
Date: Nov/2019
Thailand (Male, age 40-49)
Individual:
Guestroom 5, Baths 4, Meals -, Location 5, Reception & Service 5
Plan:
Rental House, No Meals
- No subject -
We very much appreciated the owners helpfulness, he went out of his way to help us, especially because we have a small child
Date: Oct/2019
United States (Female, age 50-59)
Individual:
Guestroom 5, Baths 5, Meals -, Location 5, Reception & Service 5
Plan:
Rental House, No Meals
Traditional Japanese mountain house Gem
My family and I stayed at Guesthouse Okagesan to walk the Kumano Kodo and enjoy the villages and shrines. We loved the traditional house and rural mountain village. Mr Shirai was very warm and welcoming, he came each day to make sure we were enjoying our stay, and even brought delicious rice balls! The local grocery was so convenient and the Yakitori restaurant has delicious food! We have been to Japan several times, and this was by far our favorite place to stay. Thank you!
Date: May/2019
United States (Male, age 30-39)
Individual:
Guestroom 5, Baths 4, Meals 5, Location 5, Reception & Service 5
Plan:
Rental House, No Meals
One of a kind.
This was by far the most unique accommodation we had on the trip. No luxury, but very authentic, old school country life.
Dinner at the owners yakitori was great. Simple and very delicious. Ordered the whole menu.
The owner does speak some English!
Date: Apr/2019
United States (Female, age 70-79)
Individual:
Guestroom 5, Baths 4, Meals -, Location 4, Reception & Service 5
Plan:
Rental House, No Meals
- No subject -
Date: Jun/2018
United States (Female, age 20-29)
Individual:
Guestroom 5, Baths 4, Meals 5, Location 4, Reception & Service 5
Plan:
Rental House, No Meals
A very unique place!
I'm so glad I got the chance to stay in this slightly out-of-the-way place. Although it's a bit far from Hongu, it's a pleasant walk with fireflies at night in the summer and it really feels authentic to stay in a traditional house in a small town! Being surrounded with the works of the artist who used to live here, the sounds of nature, and the rain and wind tapping out patterns on the roof, the old wood stove and the rustic architecture... This is the kind of place I want to visit when I visit Japan!
The owner even brought me delicious still-warm onigiri in the morning!
Date: Apr/2018
Japan (Female, age 50-59)
Individual:
Guestroom 5, Baths -, Meals -, Location 5, Reception & Service 5
Plan:
Rental House, No Meals
Our Hongu house
I reserved the house via internet and everything could not have been easier.My friend and I LOVED the house. It has EVERYTHING you need for an amazing stay.It was easy to make arrangements, or ask for requests with the owner. The house was perfect for our hiking in the area and the onsen choices were perfect. We want to live here!
Date: Apr/2018
Singapore (Female, age **)
Individual:
Guestroom 3, Baths -, Meals -, Location 3, Reception & Service 5
Plan:
Rental House, No Meals
Warm hospitality despite language barrier
The owner of the guesthouse is extremely kind. We arrived early at the guesthouse when the previous group was still around. He allowed us to leave our belongings at the house. As there was no food around in the area, we had no choice but to buy cup noodles for dinner. The owner saw us eating cup noodles & brought us some oden from his kitchen to supplement our meal. Thank you for your kindness & hospitality!The only negative points are that the toilet is rather far away from our living quarters and it is very cold to go to the toilet at night.Also as this is a very traditional house, there is no locks on the doors so I didn't feel very secure.
Wataze Onsen
Hongu Area