Secret Japan

[meandher]

On the Onsen pages, there's this one listed: Yumotokan (Shizuoka-ken)

Link: http://www.secret-japan.com/onsen/show.php?&selcode=67

It mentions its in a Ryokan. I'd like to find what Ryokan its in as I would like to stay there.

That is, if its within a few hours of Okayama (say 3.5) and not too far to transfer to Tokyo after the stay as we are leaving the next day.

Help would be appreciated.

[sanji]

Yumotokan is the name of the ryokan : here is the web site of that accommodation - http://www.yumotokan-izu.jp/

However, like many places in Izu, this ryokan is not accessible by train, and I even doubt there is a bus going there... So easy access from Okayama is far from being certain.

[meandher]

Thanks for that. Since I posted, I found another web site for it:

http://www.mountaintrad.co.jp/shizuoka/ygsm/yumoto/data.html in japanese of course.

And also contacted someone - their reply was "about 15Km from Shuzenji to Yugashima and its took 30minutes by bus and the bus timetable is no for sure and a little bit complicated so you must ask someone near by at shuzenji St"

Which is a worry. We don't want to get to the station and have no way to get there if the buses are a bit 'iffy'. I assume a 30min taxi ride would cost us a fortune? What are the chances of hitching with a nice japanese person that speaks engligh? :)

The other alternative is here: http://www.fujiyoshi.com/index.html although its very very expensive, but I hear its nice. My concern with this one too was access from the station.

My preference is for a more 'natural' outside rotenburo experience. From the pictures I get the impression:

Yugashima has more natural looking rotenburo, but the Ryokan is not quite as nice as Fujiyoshi, and Fujiyoshi has a top notch ryokan but their pools look (from the pics I've seen) more 'man made'. Maybe I'm wrong.

Any more info you can give would be great so we can decide between these 2.

Thanks again

Oh, by the way, we've changed our schedule, we are staying in Nagoya after Kyoto to get back easier instead of having to come from Okayama.

[sanji]

I will answer your questions about Fujiyoshi on your other post.

Comparing both ryokan is really not fair. Fujiyoshi is really an upscale accommodation, while Yomotokan has more a "boheme" atmosphere - apparently, a famous writer used to stay there to write some of his work.

But if you intend to have a nice onsen experience, I definitively would go to Fujiyoshi. Sure, the bath at Yumotokan is just above the river, in a completely natural setting, but it is quite small, and you probably would get bored after a while there. On the other hand, Fujiyoshi onsen has an incredible view on the sea, which might be more exotic than a simple river, and has a large variety of baths to soak in.

It is much more expensive, but I believe that it is worth the price difference.

Access is also better. 30 minutes by taxi would probably cost you a lot... but the biggest problem might even be to find a taxi in Shuzenji. Keep also in mind that there are relatively few trains to Shuzenji. If you prefer to stay in the center of Izu, then finding an accommodation in Shuzenji might be an alternative. I have not really soaked there, but visited the two 5-6 times. Lots of work has been made there, and the village is really pleasant now, with a nice river, several beautiful temples and a very special atmosphere.

[meandher]

Thanks for that.

I was afraid you would say that too. Its fairly pricey!

According to hyperdia, there do seem fairly regular trains to Shuzenji. I assume they wouldn't give me the schedule to there if they didn't actually stop would they?

I guess we could also, if we really want to go to the Yugashima onsen, do it one day at our leisure from Fujiyoshi if we work out its possible once we are there.

I'm assuming the Fujiyoshi are mixed baths too.

Appreciate your help. This is once in a lifetime for us, I want to get it right, especially for our honeymoon.

[sanji]

Going from Shuzenji to Fujiyoshi is pretty time consuming. If you look at a map from Izu peninsula, you will see that there are very few connexions between the East, the center and the west of the peninsula. It is probably possible to do it by car, much less by public transportation.

My bad for Shuzenji, you certainly can trust hyperdia.

And indeed, the Yomotokan ryokan is accessible in 30 minutes by bus, if you read their instructions in Japanese on the official web site. They do not talk about the frequency.

Searching on the internet let me to this web site, from the official bus company : http://dia.tokaibus.jp/rosen/

The ryokan is in the middle of this map in Yugashima (湯ヶ島) : http://dia.tokaibus.jp/rosen/09-yugashima.html (scroll up for Shuzenji)
Apparently, the time table from Shuzenji to Yumotokan in Yugashima (湯ヶ島) is the following : http://dia.tokaibus.jp/OrangeGuide/pc/table.do?pole=2&busstop=6223&kind=0

Fujiyoshi is a mixed bath, too.

[meandher]

Thanks again. Gee I wish I could speak Japanese (or read it) for those timetables etc.

Theres a picture of a small bus on the Fujiyoshi web site: http://www.fujiyoshi.com/index.html (half way down on the right on the first page)

Could you tell me if its mention of a shuttle bus or is it something else?

At this stage I'm thinking that Fujiyoshi might be the better option since we are likely to stay there for the 2 days for relaxation without too much exploring and for that purpose we might as well stay there and spend the money.

[sanji]

shuttle information has been added on the thread related to Fujiyoshi : http://www.secret-japan.com/forum/fujiyoshi-%28shizuoka-ken%29-t683.html#1793