After reading the thread on Kurokawa Onsen village in these forums, we are VERY interested in staying there.

However, after calling/emailing all the ones on this website as well as the ones on japaneseguesthouses.com, we are not having any luck getting accommodations.

We are just looking for one room for one night, August 13. Yes, it's a Thursday during peak peak season, but we are hoping that there are enough onsen ryokans in the village that SOMEONE has a vacancy!

We are wondering if there is anyone on this forum who either live near the area, or knows the area well enough to know other "smaller" ryokan, that are not published on the Internet.

We're guessing that's the only way we're going to get accommodations. If someone could help us, it'd be much appreciated! You can PM me, if desired.

Thank you,
waterbuffalo

Unfortunately, finding an accommodation in Kurokawa onsen during o-bon period just 2 months in advance is close to impossible...

Visitors really reserve months in advance, and absolutely all ryokan are listed on the official Kurokawa web site.

Your best chance would be either to contact the tourist office, and see if they have some cancellation; and try that from time to time. Or, decide to stay in a village nearby and travel to Kurokawa to soak. This is not as good, but might be your best chance...

Thanks so much Sanji.

We finally got one of the ryokans listed on the site, I think someone else cancelled, like you said. (Because a couple days ago, they said they were completely booked.)

Even though they only give us one night, it's still better nothing. Really looking forward to it!

Just curious: Do you have a favorite lunch spot? Our room already comes with dinner/breakfast, but not lunch, as far as I can tell.

Thanks again!

It is pretty easy to find a lunch spot in Kurokawa, as most ryokan will have some affordable lunch menus available. I can not really recommend a specific place, I even think I skipped lunch after enjoying a huge dinner and a nice breakfast

Would love to hear from your experience once you are back from Japan...