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Everything was amazing, from the rooms to the incredible and charming bar, with exquisite cocktails and quality food, and the best the owner

The view from the cabin was incredible - our own slice of mountain paradise. Only 20mins to Takachico Gorge.

Charming location. Beautiful traditional Japanese house. We brought pot noodles as worried there would be nowhere to eat but didn't need to worry as helpful host gave us directions to an izikaya a couple of kilometres away. Good if you have a car but probably not ideal to walk at night as not much pavement or lighting. Wish we had a bit more time to enjoy setting.

Good service. Clean house . Full equipment. PRIVATE parking.

Spacious, clean and comfortable, Japanese style.

A friend said this was her favourite hotel in Japan - and it lived up to expectations. We had one of the twin rooms in the main building, which had a separate sitting room and bathroom. The rooms were clean and beds comfortable. What makes this hotel stand out is1) cuisine 2) astronomy 3) friendliness of all those who work there. The breakfasts and dinners we ate at this hotel are some of the best meals I have ever eaten in my life. If you stay more than one night you get a different cooked breakfast and evening meal to the previous day. French cuisine with Japanese accents. The local beef was so tender, the vegetables so fresh, the homemade bread delicious! The meals are at set times with a set menu - I had contacted them in advance about my food allergy and they did not cook with mushrooms during our stay. They use local beef or pork - they can adjust menus for those who are pescatarian, or want to avoid beef or pork, but do not offer vegetarian meals. The hotel has its own Planetarium with a show for guests each evening - live commentary mainly in Japanese with some English. Next door is the Observatory with an 82cm telescope (2nd biggest in the whole of Kyushu). As part of the stargazing experience ( free to hotel guests) we were able to look through the telescope to see Jupiter, Mars, Sirius, Betelgeuse etc - with live explanations in Japanese and English. The final part of the evening was spent outside lying on camp beds wrapped up warmly in sleeping bags stargazing while a professional astronomer asked us questions on what we had already learnt that evening - could we find the stars and planets we had already looked at through the telescope. He pointed out how we can identify different stars and planets - and answered questions in Japanese and English ( having worked and studied at universities in the USA for 20 years he was bilingual). Many of the staff at the hotel are professional astronomers - post doctoral level.

Great house, great host, great area!! We loved our stay despite the rain!!

Dinner and breakfast was exceptional. There was so much attention to detail in each dish as well as drink. Service was great, they had complimentary housemade cheese cookies and chocolates for valentines day which was lovely. They have a private onsen in each room.

Wow did Ryokan Shinsen ever meet and exceed our expectations! Our room was incredible. The cleanliness and attention to detail in the design of the property and gardens are wonderful. The staff treated us like gold. They were especially considerate towards my girlfriends serious gluten allergy at dinner, and also my desire to not eat seafood.

Very nice house close to Mount Aso. For us as western foreigners the whole region was quite different from the picture we typically make ourselves of Japan - much more rural and rather sparsely populated. Very interesting to see and experience. Ken is an excellent host, giving great recommendations and caring for his guests.