Kitanokaze Saryou

Summary: Terrible food, suite lacks privacy (see pictures), bad service, This was the most expensive place I’ve ever stayed at (800 USD per night) and also the worst place I’ve ever stayed at. Especially when compared to another ryokan in Hakone I stayed at in 2016 that cost less and was better in every way. Food was terrible: - Too much sodium was used on all the dishes. - Sashimi was rubbery and tasteless. I’ve eaten all different grades of sashimi, from 2 michelin star to depachika discounted sashimi. This was worse than sashimi bought from a United States discount grocery store. - Sashimi was served with horseradish “wasabi” instead of real wasabi. Which is not fine for an 800 USD a night ryokan, in Japan. - The rest of the dishes lack any real flavor of the ingredients. Tsukemono was tasteless, the onions and corn in the main beef dish was tasteless. - Chicken soup tasted like it was just a piece of dried up chicken in hot salted water. The carrots were dried up and had no flavor. - Portions were really small, and it was stretched out over 2 hours. Which would be acceptable if the food was good, but it was not. I suspect that the ryokan is only in this to make alcohol money - pump you full of sodium for 2 hours so you keep paying for more drinks. It was 700 yen for a cup of tea, so we asked for water, which we didn’t get until 15 minutes into the dinner. - Before you make an assumption about an American that doesn’t appreciate kaiseki, we stayed in Gora Hanaougi in 2016, which cost 650 USD a night. The food was amazingly delicious. We ate some vegetables that we have never seen before and still do not know the name of, but we didn’t care - it was just really good. They also served quality ingredients that highlighted the flavor of the ingredients themselves. - Before you make an assumption that I just don’t appreciate a general haute cuisine, I’ve had meals at michelin star restaurants and they were fantastic. Even when served things I thought I wouldn’t like, I always eat everything and I am amazed how good it is. - Before you make an assumption that I’m just spoiled, I enjoy all “levels” of food. It’s not always about the most expensive thing - I love a fresh salad, or some plain cold soba noodles, a toasted croissant, a bowl of rice with seaweed. The food at Kitanokaze Saryo was just really bad. The sashimi was the most telling sign the food was all about looks and not about taste. It’s bad because they started out with bad ingredients and then just add salt to everything. - The food was so bad that we went out to eat somewhere else afterward. We also skipped the rest of the meals in this place since we didn’t want to sit for 2 hours and torture ourselves. No, we didn’t get our money back. Not once did any of the staff ask how our stay was or if they could make it better. Suite lacks privacy: - 2 windows look into the suite. 1 into sitting area and 1 in onsen where you are naked. Bad service: - Can’t find someone to inform them we did not want breakfast (see pictures of the staff room I took). I was alarmed also by the fact they didn’t lock any of their computers, which means that another guest or any staff member can look at any guest’s information. - While we spoke to a nicer lower level staff (presumed because of uniform differences) about the air conditioning, the more senior staff came out of the office and just GLARED at us. - We were harassed about not wanting breakfast and dinner. Since we could not find anyone to inform that we did not want breakfast since their food was bad, we decide to try to relax and soak in the indoor hot tub in the morning before we went out for the day. Phone calls, knocking and almost barging into the room, coming after us as we went out. I had to truncate because google reviews has a char limit. - Not once did anyone ask about our stay. - I paid full price, no discount for their terrible food or service. - I handed a staff member a list of my complaints written down. So they can improve if they want to. I didn’t even get a fake apology. I just got an “oh ok”.

Great experience in this auberge with the traditional Japanese style Onsen/hot spring. The fantastic Japanese cuisine, which of some dishies arranged by French/Italian tastes. My favorite is 茶碗蒸(Savory egg custard) with 花咲蟹(Hanasaki crab), really tasty and smoothy. The room has the private 露天風呂(Open air bath) with 100% natural hot spring, gets you so relaxed, calm and satisfied stay. You must no longer want to go out, except for the cuisine😁