We had an amazing stay at Tenbouen. The staff was incredibly friendly and helpful. It was such a nice experience to live in an authentic, traditional japanese room. The food was wonderful, and the staff explained what everything was and how to eat it, which was nice since we are not Japanese. I highly recommend going to Kinosakionsen in general, it such a nice town, but especially to stay at Tenbouen!

Absolutely wonderful stay! The hotel is tucked away in a quiet nature setting with charm, comfort, and beautiful atmosphere. The manager Naoko goes beyond and above to make sure you enjoy your stay. Free shuttle to downtown for easy access to all the hot springs is provided. I would prefer this hotel over the ones located in the city center.

Great staff especially Nakao San. Good touch to provide a special room for guests to take photographs with traditional Japanese gowns which are provided FOC by the hotel. The meals are meticulously prepared and tasted fantastic.

Having to carry your luggage up or downstairs as they don’t have lifts. All guests must leave their room from 10am-3pm so the staff can do their cleaning. This can sometimes inconvenient their guests.

From the moment we were picked up from the train station, to the day we left, the service at the ryokan was amazing. We booked a traditional Japanese style room, and they even upgraded us to a bigger one for free without us asking. The manager was so nice the entire time we stayed there, and often went out of his way to make us feel welcome and to show us interesting things. He even at one point let us use the private onsen for free (again without us asking). The food was incredible. We booked the breakfast and dinner plan, and there was different food for every meal. My partner is a vegetarian, and we had not intended to ask for special accommodation for her. However, they noticed that she was avoiding eating meat during the meals, and asked if she did not eat meat. When they learned that she was a vegetarian, they went out of their way to make sure the meals served to us could could be enjoyed by her while still allowing me to enjoy the non-vegetarian food of the region. Needless to say, all the food we ate there was delicious. The room was clean and comfortable, and had a private toilet. We were able to use the shared bath facilities (including the shared hot spring). We had been unsure if this would be possible since we have tattoos that we cannot cover up, but we were assured that this was fine. This was also true for the seven onsen in town. After dinner, there was a shuttle to the downtown to visit onsen and shops, and then a shuttle to return to the ryokan after we were finished. During the day, we walked to and from the ryokan (although there was also a shuttle in the morning). We enjoyed hiking up the mountain to the temple and the view one day, and on another we took a short train ride to the ocean. We also enjoyed walking through the streets of Kinosaki doing some souvenir shopping. We would for sure recommend Tenboen as a ryokan.

lovely Onsen

The staff was helpful and courteous. Dinner and breakfast were good. Transport was provided for guests between the Roykan and the train station; as well as between the Roykan and the main shopping street to do shopping and Onsen hopping.

The Japanese room for two was very small. The Onsen was very small. Chance to book the private onsen was very slim if you did not check in early. There was no lift to the rooms which were located on the 2nd floor. The location of the Roykan was also quite far away from the main shopping street.

The personnel was super friendly, the food was very good (it was an interesting experience as well, for sure, all those different tastes...) The ryokan is not the most central, but it didn't matter, because they shuttled us into the city center (about 3 minutes ride, so it's not very far away!) and picked us up again. We really appreciated this service! The in-house bath (women) is small, but very cozy and with a nice atmosphere! Thank you very much for this pleasant experience!

Everything was outstanding! The only thing that was a bit unexpected, was the slight smell of old tobacco in the living/sleeping room - since we are non-smokers, it was not very nice. But everyone was so friendly and smiling and helpful, that it really didn't matter in the end!