Kinosaki Recommendations

The two of us would like to splurge a little and enjoy a ryokan in Kinosaki during out trip in March. The problem is, I can't decide which one we should take! I've got a few ideas so far but I hoped to get some input and perhaps experiences from people who have been.

Also, should I try to book directly through the ryokan's websites (ex. http://yado.mob5.jp/plan_EN/index.php ) or the hotel concierge ( http://www.kinosaki-web.com/en/howtouse/ )? It seems like the pricing is exactly the same...

Onishiya Suisyoen is currently my first choice but they are a bit distant from the action.

Would be glad to hear recommendations!

Hi! We stayed 2 nights at Nishimuraya Honkan. I think it has been voted best ryokan at Kinosaki. We stayed for one night in the Hatsune room and the other in the Asuka room. The rooms are probably the best we have stayed in, just awesome - but in one of them (the bigger one, so maybe Hatsune) it was noisy as with people stomping around upstairs half the night.

The food was probably the most elaborate I've eaten anywhere, just exquisite, and it is in a good location. I think that the baths at the ryokan are normal water, so that people have to go to the public onsen for proper water.

+1 on Nishimuraya Honkan. We stayed there for one night in July 2014. Superb service, superb food, but not in-your-face presence. Their own onsen was good, but you really have to take advantage of the whole community.

Dale

I really did see good things about Nishimuraya Honkan and I looked into it, but unfortunately it looks like they're already sold out for the weekends (or they only do Monday to Thursday cause that seems like all they have available).

Has anyone stayed at Onishiya Suisyoen that could give an opinion?

Actually, it does have availability for the weekend, but the price point is just beyond our means for this trip. As much as I would like to break the bank and book the Asuka room, I can't see 45k yen per person as fitting into our budget at this point. Even the single rooms go at nearly 39k per person. Onishiya fits our price point for this trip better at ~24k per person.

I will most definitely keep your recommendations for Nishimuraya Honkan in mind for a future trip though! It seems like a great experience, and I'll have to remember to work my schedule around a weekday for the trip to Kinosaki rather than a weekend next time!

I stayed overnight at Morizuya, it is central Kinosaki and an easy wander to most onsen. The food was fantastic!!! They have an in-house onsen with a tiny and cute outdoor section which you can reserve for a private bath.
The host was great, picked me up at the station and even dropped my bags at the station the next morning so I could walk through town.
Japanese - http://morizuya.com/
English - http://www.morizuya.com/en/

We stayed at Mikuniya Ryokan
It was pretty nice experience. The food is amazing and the private baths reservation times was very nice. The price also includes the public onsen's as well! We only manage to do two public one's. The walk at night is nice as well after the onsen.

http://www.kinosaki3928.com/english/

Hope this helps!