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●Shiroyamakan which was built 100 years ago is tasteful historic building. Shiroyamakan is one of the important historic building in Shirakawa-go. We had fixed and extended but it hadn’t lost the nostalgic atmosphere. Please forget your busy life here, and enjoy your easy time. I'm afraid we accept bookings 4 parties only. ●We accept the bookings only 4 parties on weekdays because we hope to treat you and communicate with you a lot. We’ll always do our best for your satisfaction. ●Shiroyamakan doesn’t equip a bath except for 1 room Hakusan. Please take a bath at "Shirakawa-go no Yu” which is close to our accommodation. We’ll give 1 ticket to our guests each. “Shirakawa-go no Yu” is the only natural hot spring of the world heritage Shirakawa-go. It takes 5 minutes from our accommodation. But it’s possible to bring you to there by car if you need.
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This ryokan is a destination in itself. The village of Shiragawa is very small. One can walk the length of the main street in 15 minutes. There are a lot of people who go to the village only for day trips. You would stay in this Ryokan not because of the village, but for the spa-like luxury. I went there with my adult daughter. The ryokan is family run. We were greeted by one of the hostesses who spoke very good English. We had the one room upstairs with a gorgeous river view. The room was spotless and spartan by design, zen-like, so as to appreciate what was around you. There are two private onsens on site. Robes are provided and one is encouraged to wear them after your bath. We took our onsen baths before dinner, but you can take it afterwards as well. Dinner is served at a set time for all guests together. There were only 3 other parties of two who stayed there that night. Dinner was a 10 course piece of delicious art, with almost all ingredients obtained locally. After dinner, I went for a night time stroll of the village which is now almost completely empty and quiet. Breakfast was similar to dinner, a multi-course artfully served meal, although it was not necessary for all the guests to come at the exact same time. Check out was straight forward but the patriarch and matriarch of the family made an effort to see us off personally. Highly recommended. Furthermore, the bus station is directly across the street, making it a convenient location on top of everything else!
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Date of stay: May 2024
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Trip type: Travelled with family
Room Tip:If you get there before mid-afternoon, the owner may also give you a free driving tour of the...
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It is very difficult to evaluate this accommodation because the words seem weak and insufficient to grasp all the details that have been taken care of, first on the frame itself, from the dishes, of remarkable elegance, to the architecture, which updates the traditional ryokan in a masterful way. Then, on the welcome, which exceeds the highest standards, even Japanese. It is a family that welcomes you here, with all its heart, all its soul and a huge wish to share its history and culture. This sharing of course goes through the kitchen and how can we not congratulate this audacity and sophistication? Such meals- in Paris- would require months of advance bookings. The crowning achievement of this dream is the sento overlooking the river: a pure moment of ecstasy. This is our third trip to Japan but this accommodation has something special and we will never forget it. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
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Date of stay: November 2024Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
PROS: 1. Just across the Shirakawa-go bus terminal 2. Such an immersive and peaceful environment. There was no TV in our room but we spent hours watching the dancing autumn leaves outside our window while listening to the rustling of the trees and chriping of the crickets. 3. Room is large and cozy with traditional Japanese decor. We were able to book the room with a private toilet and bath, however we realized that bathing in one of the ryokan's two onsens (Which could be used exclusively by a group, by just flipping the occupied sign) is a much better experience. 4. The family was very welcoming and hospitable. Takuya Matsufuru-san, the fourth generation owner of the inn, even gave us a tour of the village in his van (tours were in Japanese which he would later translate into English audio by an app). 5. Food was great! Kaiseki style dinner, and breakfast with freshly foraged ingredients from the mountains, freshly caught river fish, and handmade soba noodles!
CONS: 1. They only accomodate four groups at a time, hence booking can be quite a challenge, but is definitely worth it!
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Date of stay: November 2023Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
I spent one night at Shirakawa-go and I have no regrets choosing Shiroyama-kan. This is perhaps my best ryokan experience so far in Japan. I initially had worries as there is only one room with attached bathrooms and I did not manage to book that room. The shared toilet turned out to be very clean and modern -even better than the toilet in some hotels and shopping malls. There are 2 vouchers per person to bathe at an onsen in the village which is about 3 minutes walk away.
The service and hospitality provided are also exceptional. Shiroyamakan provides free tour (in the owner's van) every afternoon. He drives us around the village and show us the famous locations such as the three houses and the observatory viewpoint. We can choose the time for dinner and breakfast to be served and they will call our room to inform when the meal is ready. Despite language barrier, the family genuinely tries to engage in conversation.
You can trust the photos in their official website: the food serving is that much, the food is that appetising, and the family running the ryokan is that warm and friendly. One example: we were the last one to check out and they asked what bus and the time that we would be leaving the village. As our bus was leaving Shirakawago, they were waiting and waving goodbye from outside of the ryokan which is located just opposite the bus terminal.
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Date of stay: December 2019
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If you want to feel Japanese for a day you absolutely must sleep in this ryokan. We stayed in a room with private bathroom but there are also rooms with shared bathroom. Great location: it is located opposite the bus station and next to the historic center of Shirakawa. It's run entirely by the whole family and they make you feel really at home. Great breakfast and dinner (real Japanese cuisine).
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Date of stay: August 2024
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Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
An incredible experience. From the structure, convenient to the bus and the center, to the hospitality (free tour), to the structure (room with huge windows on the ground floor, onsen), to the kitchen (wonderful dinner and breakfast). All a fairy tale. Beautiful, magnificent! Staying here is the sweetest memory of the trip
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Date of stay: August 2024
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Trip type: Travelled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Since I was the first one to review this place and since I go there every year I need to update my review. This year was a disappointing experience to some extent. They renovated their toilets downstairs beautifully and it seemed to have taken a toll on the food. I would like to also mention that when you do make a reservation, make sure to mention that you are making reservation with two meals. If you don't, you will be charged less and get no meals. We got a very warm welcome by the family as usual. Also got a wonderful goodbye at the end of our stay. This year we did not get to stay in the in-suite room but our room had a better view overlooking the river. Do ask for the Onsen tickets and you will get it. They do speak some English. Their oldest daughter Yuki's English is more than reasonable if you are patient. Although the quality of the food was still excellent the dishes were less, about 40% less items. With that in mind, I will rate this place as an unnecessarily expensive place. However, let me tell the entire story. Shirakawa Go got almost totally destroyed by loud, disrespectful, Chinese Tour groups. I know I am singling out one group only but it is the truth. Ever since the highway construction made it easy to reach it from Takayama and Kanazawa, it started to get ruined. Gone are the days when it was an open village with incredible beauty and friendly people. Now most shop keepers stay indoors during day time and rely on honor system. During day time it feels like walking through Pompeii or Ercolano. A dead village. To get a taste of the little bit of magic that is still left you will need to spend over night and in Shiroyamakan you will be the only non Japanese guest. And that is worth the money even now. We will take a few years off of going to Ogimachi. We go to Japan every year. In 5 or 6 years we will return to Shiroyamakan again.
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Date of stay: November 2013
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Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
I feel bad writing this review, as this is a family ran place, and they are sweet people, but I was not impressed with this place. For 150 US dollars you get a beautiful river view in the cutest Japanese town, but the rest is not satisfying. The room was cold and they asked us to turn the main heater off (we did not), old hotel but they can fix little details so it looks cozy. Uninviting neon light, they should have a dim lamp. Bathrooms are shared and coed, it reminded me of an old hostel in Eastern Europe, awful tiles in bathroom. You get a pass to go to the next door onsen for bathing but only for one... a reviewer mentioned they serve amazing dinner, but we were not offered it nor breakfast. Old tatamis, old yukatas, old blankets. Shirakawa-go is worth visting and if you are up to spending 150 bucks to experience a dreamlike town, go for it, if you have time to search for something better, you should.
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Date of stay: January 2013
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Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
My family and I stayed here for one night and we were greeted by the friendly family who run and live in the inn for over four generations. We had a clean basic room with a beautiful river view with a dual air-conditioning, oil heater and electric mat. We stayed in January so it was quiet cold, but the family put hot water bottles in our futon and we were able to get extra blankets from the cupboard. So we were not too cold during the night when the oil heater was turned off.
You have to remember that the building itself was built during the Meiji Period (1863-1912). So if you are looking for a warm hotel like experience, you are looking at the wrong place. It feels like a typical Japanese house and you are a guest (like homestay). There is modern toilets but you have to go to the onsen across the road for a bath (the onsen was fantastic! My skin felt like a million dollars after).
Food was fantastic. But upon reading other reviews, best to make sure that it is included in your stay. All the food is cooked by the dad and is quiet good (compared to other ryokans I have stayed at for similar price). The father was nice enough to pick us up and drop us off at the bus stop, take us to the beautiful onsen across the road and back. The father also has a morning tour around Shirakawago, it is probably best to go so he can take you to the top lookout. I am not sure about his English abilities but it gives you a good view of small town and places to take memorable pictures.
The Inn also provided all of its guests new gumboots for the snow during your stay. Which was fantastic, as our shoes didn't become drenched and we were able to leave them at the bus depo for the Inn to collect when we left.
Although we were a bit cold in the house, the food, friendly service made all the difference. Stay here to experience one night in a typical Japanese house.
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Date of stay: January 2014
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Trip type: Travelled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Stayed in Shiroyamakan twice already and going there again in November. We go to Japan every year mainly to eat Japanese food which is really not the same outside of Japan. This place has the best food in the entire country. Both times we stayed there three nights and had three dinners and three breakfasts. Each meal had a minimum of 15 dishes and the owner NEVER repeated any dish and the ceramics on which the food was served. On top of that we do not eat meat and they always accommodated us happily. We always stayed in the suite. They only have one. They also give coupons to go to the bath house for free. Yes we have stayed in more luxurious and gorgeous places in Japan but never had any food that is so great. Looking forward to be there soon.
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Date of stay: December 2009
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Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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