Hienkaku Annex Tenseien

Has anyone stayed in Hienkaku Annex Tenseien? I'd like to compare this with Ichinoyu Honkan.

Also, what is the bathroom in Hienkaku Annex Tenseien like. I understand the tap delivers spring water, but is the bathroom semi outdoors?

Thanks

Hi Deb,

I'll be going to Hakone mid May and considering one night's stay at Hienkaku. The place looks nice and affordable, about 20000yen for 2 persons incl. meals. I read that Hakone Yumoto is a popular spot to stay among tourists. But was just wondering if staying nearer to Lake Ashi, is there higher chance to see Mt Fuji from your room/ hotel? Also, as Hienkaku is an annex of Tenseien, I wonder how far it is located from the main building and whether any inconvenience caused as a result? Anyone can advise?? Many thanks

We just came back from Hienkaku a day ago. We stayed for one night only (too short) at 19,600yen for two adults with breakfast and dinner. (Booked through japanhotel.net.)

The hotel is larger than most you will find in the area, although it is getting old with signs of wear and tear. (In fact, part of the main building is under renovation now.) The site is a distance to walk from the Yumoto station, but a leisurely pace in such a peaceful small Japanese town is in itself an experience. To get there for the first time, get a taxi.

The room is large, with nice view and an attached bathroom, which is quite unnecessary as you would spend your time at the hotbath anyway. We did not have any success in getting the hotspring water into our bathroom, as it ''would take some time'' according to the hotel staff. (Language is always a BIG problem.)

There are in total five public hotbaths in the main building and the annex. They are not too far to walk. There are also three private baths for a fee.

The dinner is too much in quantity. The type of food is not the Japanese food that we enjoy or prefer, but the setting is quite an experience. If you are looking for more enjoyable food, you should try to go for no-dinner option (if they have one) and get the type you like from a restaurant in the town.

Viewing of Mt. Fuji is really by luck, and we did not have it at all. The weather was so bad that the visibility was barely ten feet when we were in the ropeway.

We ended up enjoying the hotspring. We regretted for spending too much time running around the classic round trip and did not spend enough time relaxing in the hotspring.

Overall it was a positive experience and I would recommend it.

Thanks for your review of Hienkaku. I have a few questions for you:-

1) Was the room very worn out?
2) Did it have western toilet and shower
3) How much to use the private onsen - do you know if they charge per person, or per session
4) What was it about the food that you don't like? I love sashimi (raw fish/seafood)and am hoping that will be served. Would you be able to describe the dinner and the quality?

Thanks so much for your help. I'm still pondering over whether to stay at Hienkaku or Ichinoyu Honkan

This question was posted months ago but for anyone who happened to find this on google (like I did when I was planning my trip) and is interested in the answer, here is my best shot. I just came back from Japan a few weeks ago.

1) The room was not very worn out...but it had a scent (I think it was a combo of smoke and wood smell...cedar maybe?) There's some disrepair in some parts, but it's quite rustic; I guess you can describe it so. We actually had 2 cockroaches or bugs whatever, in our room, and it was really scary...I think it came in from this opening in the bathroom that wasn't sealed properly...but even with the language barrier, the dude @ the front desk was really helpful and brought us some insecticide.

2) Yes, western style toilet that was in a seperate water closet. The bath was Japanese in that it had a deep tub with a washing area next to it (they provide a wooden bucket and stool)...this whole shower/bath area is seperated from the sink by a door. There is a shower head, so you can either shower in the washing area or in the tub. About the hot spring water...from my understanding through limited Japanese and a lot of guessing at what the sign on the bathroom door said...the water that comes out from the tap IS indeed hot spring water. However, it takes a very long to "heat up". They explain this by saying that b/c the pipes carrying the water (which is supposed to be warm) is cold, so it takes a long time for the pipes to heat up and the water to be delivered warm (since I don't think they boil the water...so if it's at just the right temperature and it's travelling in cold piping...then it comes out quite cold). Even though it's a waste of water, I just leave the tap on while I prepare to shower b/c if you got all ready, you'd be standing there for like 15-20 minutes waiting for it to get warm. Also, the biggest problem w/getting hot spring water is that there is simply NO WATER PRESSURE...at least not in our room anyway. I suggest you to fill up the wooden bucket and rinse w/that b/c the water kind of half dribbles half flows weakly out of the shower head...almost impossible to take a good shower w/that. And if you try to add cold water to up the pressure...it'll be cold.

3) I think you can check out the site to find out the price. http://www.hienkaku.com/index2.html
I think depending on which one you choose, it should be between 2100-5250 yen for one hour...can't remember if that's per person though.
We ended up going to a spa resort called Yunessun.

4) If you get basic dinner, you get maybe...3-4 slices of sashimi...of I don't even know what kind of rice it is. There was grilled fish and eel (unagi) but everything was laid out by the time we got to dinner (and we were only about 5 min late) so it was all cold. There was also a platter w/weird jello like things...some of it tasted ok, others was just weird. It's very traditional Japanese cuisine so if you're only into stuff like sushi, sashimi or like cooked stuff, you probably won't enjoy the basic dinner. I think you can probably upgrade your dinner though to like have tempura and hot stuff...b/c we saw leftovers on other tables. But of course, it'd cost a lot more.

So I guess for anyone who wants to know about Hienkaku...that's all I know. ^_^ Feel free to ask questions at any time and I'll try my best to answer if I see the post.

Thanks for that great followup Ai. It definitely will be helpful to those searching around for information about this particular ryokan.

I stayed at the Hienkaku Tenseien in June of 2007. Unfortunately, I only spent one night there. My experience was really amazing. I was part of a rather large group, and so most of us had large 3 room accomodations for about 16 of us. In each room, there is a separate western toilet and a Japanese squat style toilet. The shower is in a large room with a sunken bath and a shower head. The window in our shower opened up to the forest , which was really nice. The meals were wonderful, but the menu was not something for someone who isn't adventurous, so to speak. All in all, a wonderful time.

Hi i stayed in Hienkaku Annex Tenseien last dec. The bathroom was indoors. There are 2 waterfalls behind. its quite pretty :) Food was great - breakfast was buffet style