Shiroyamakan

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!

My wife & I stayed overnight at Shiroyamakan & it was an experience we’ll forever cherish! As I understand it, the exterior of the structure remains original to its late-1800s construction. Yet the 4th generation owners recently undertook a massive renovation of the interior & the results are breathtaking. Of the inn’s 4 rooms, 2 have been kept in traditional ryokan style & 2 have been converted to a modern style. Our modern room featured huge picture windows, one of which looked out onto a koi pond & the other onto the Shō River (I shot the attached photo of the great white heron from our room!). The room had its own ductless heat/AC unit & heat also radiated up from the gorgeous wood floor, making it oh-so-cozy. Finally, our room included its own super-modern Toto toilet & washroom. For ablutions, Shiroyamakan offers two stunning hinoki wood bathing rooms. Each very large room is private, so you won’t be in there w/ strangers & your family can use the spring-fed bath together. I will never forget how amazing the bathing rooms smelled! All that said, as great as the building is, it was the people who made our experience special. Shiroyamakan is a family affair & the proprietors, supported by their adult kids (plus their kids’ spouses), made us feel at home from the instant we stepped in. Words & pictures can’t do the place justice, but hopefully this review gives you a sense for how much we loved it. If you’re planning a visit to Shirakawa-go, I can’t recommend a stay at Shiroyamakan highly enough. It’s the sort of experience that lifts your spirit & stays with you.

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!

Se vi volete sentire giapponesi per un giorno dovete assolutamente dormire in questo ryokan. Noi abbiamo soggiornato in una camera con bagno privato ma ci sono anche camere con bagno in comune. Ottima la posizione: si trova di fronte alla stazione dei bus e a fianco del centro storico di Shirakawa. E' gestito interamente da tutta la famiglia proprietaria e ti fanno sentire davvero a casa. Ottima colazione e cena (cucina realmente giapponese).

Un'esperienza incredibile. Dalla struttura, comodissima al bus e al centro, all'ospitalità (tour gratuito), alla struttura ( camera con grandissime finestre al piano terra, onsen), alla cucina ( cena e colazione meravigliose). Tutto una favola. Stupendo, magnifico! Soggiornare qui è il ricordo più dolce del viaggio

Waren auf unserer individuellen 4-Wochen Reise durch Japan 1 Nacht im Shiroyamakan. Lage / generell: Am Beginn des historischen Dorfes gelegen, 80m zum recht steilen, aber kürzesten Weg zum Viewpoint (observation deck), 200 m zum kombini & busshuttle zum observation deck. Waren mit dem Mietwagen dort. Optimal, Parkplätze für Hotelgäste direkt am Haus. Alles fantastisch gepflegt, Speiseraum im japanischen Stil, 2 Onsen zur privaten Nutzung, einer davon mit herrlichem Blick auf den Fluss, ein unbedingtes "muss". Der Seniorchef hat uns im erstklassigen Minibus um 15:00 durchs Dorf & dann zum observation deck gefahren, englische Erklärungen liefen vom Band. Das war mega hilfreich, wir hatten sofort Orientierung bezüglich der Distanzen. Vom observation deck (der beste Platz fürs Foto, besonders morgens) sind wir dann ins Dorf gelaufen (10-15min). Die Gastgeberfamilie ist unglaublich sympathisch, achtsam und aufmerksam, man fühlt sich von Beginn an wohl, bereits die Begrüssung ist wunderbar entspannend. Zimmer: Wir hatten einen im traditionellen Ryokan Stil belassenen "triple room with private bathroom", es gibt noch "neu" gestaltete Zimmer. Geräumig, Bad (mit Wanne) & Toilette getrennt, fridge, traditioneller japanischer "Balkon/Loggia". Kimonos. Wir können keine Empfehlung bezgl. der "neuen" und "alten" Räume geben, wir fanden unseren erstklassig, die anderen "neuen" haben wir nicht gesehen (man sieht es auf der homepage). Dinner / Frühstück: Erstklassige Qualität und absolut fantastischer Service durch die Junior-Inhaber, ein Erlebnis, das sich in die durchweg fantastischen Ryokan-Kaiseki- Erfahrungen unserer Reise einreihte. Der modern-japanisch-minimalistische Speiseraum hat eine fantastische Atmosphäre, die auf Fotos schwer einzufangen ist. Preis/Leistung: sehr gut. Fazit: wir können jedem, der plant, Shirakawago/Shirakawa-mura zu besuchen, diesen Ryokan wärmstens empfehlen. Das Haus, die Zimmer, die Inhaberfamilie & nicht zuletzt das Essen schaffen eine wundervolle Atmosphäre. Unbedingt eine Übernachtung planen, weil man nur so die Möglichkeit hat, den Ort abends & morgens etwas entspannter ohne viele Bustouristen zu erleben.