{
 "slug": "yama-no-chaya",
 "name": "Yama no Chaya",
 "url": "https://ryokancatalog.com/inn/yama-no-chaya",
 "location": "Hakone",
 "prefecture": "Kanagawa",
 "region": "Kanto",
 "geo": {
  "lat": 35.2323,
  "lng": 139.1069
 },
 "tier": "A",
 "score": 8.2,
 "score_scale": "1-10",
 "unscored": false,
 "confidence": "med",
 "evidence": {
  "units": 3,
  "op_stays": 0,
  "member_stays": 3
 },
 "kinrt_rank_claim": null,
 "rooms": null,
 "property_type": "Onsen ryokan",
 "style": "Kaiseki",
 "features": {
  "in_room_onsen": "Yes",
  "meals_in_room": null
 },
 "summary": "An onsen ryokan in a narrow forested Hakone valley, with an open-air onsen bath in each room, meals served in the room and three shared baths (one outdoors, up a short path), at roughly $600–850 half board, well under what a Tokyo hotel costs. Every first-hand account runs warm to glowing, and the kitchen is the consistent star. KI-NRT is cooler, calling it a solid choice, though not quite as centrally located as Gora Kadan or Ginyu, and he puts Asaba at the top of his own list for the region. The valley is serene, but there are no views.",
 "aspect_scale": "1-5",
 "aspects": {
  "cuisine": {
   "label": "Food",
   "score": 4.5,
   "text": "The kaiseki is what every guest praises first. LisainCA's family of foodies found the dinner exceeded expectations, delicious, fresh and varied (the kitchen even brought a mini hibachi so her pescatarian daughter could grill her own fish), and the breakfast was just as good. Smiley90 calls it possibly the best food he ate in Japan, and FlyingTurk1, who finds ryokan food generally underwhelming, still thought it superior to Takefue's."
  },
  "onsen": {
   "label": "Bath",
   "score": 4.5,
   "text": "Every room has its own open-air onsen bath, and there are three shared onsen besides: two indoors, one of which you can book for your own party for an hour (the other alternates between men and women), and a beautiful outdoor bath reached up a small path. It was raining during LisainCA's stay, and the inn set out outdoor slippers and umbrellas for the walk. Smiley90 calls the onsens excellent."
  },
  "service": {
   "label": "Service",
   "score": 4.5,
   "text": "When LisainCA's son mentioned he wanted an early run, the staff gave him directions and had his running shoes set out at the entrance before he woke. You choose your dinner and breakfast times, both come to the room (they served all four of her family in one room on request), an evening snack of inari appeared after the kaiseki, and the massage she booked through the inn was thorough and reasonably priced. Smiley90 calls the service excellent."
  },
  "room": {
   "label": "Room",
   "score": 4,
   "text": "The rooms strike a balance between rustic and luxurious, each with its own open-air onsen bath, and they are air-conditioned in summer. LisainCA recommends Yama no Ashita, on the second floor, over the ground-floor Yama no Yube, which ran a bit humid because its bath is more enclosed. Smiley90 calls the rooms excellent, and FlyingTurk1 found the place a tad dated but loved it anyway."
  },
  "setting": {
   "label": "Place",
   "score": 3.5,
   "text": "Yama no Chaya sits in a narrow forested valley, and the rooms look onto the valley and the trees, which Smiley90 says is peaceful without being what he would call a view. LisainCA loved watching the rain on the trees from the sitting room and calls the stay a fantastic respite from Tokyo. KI-NRT notes it is not quite as centrally located as Gora Kadan, Ginyu or Gora Hanaougi, and LisainCA says not to miss the Hakone Open Air Museum nearby."
  }
 },
 "transit": {
  "cities": [
   {
    "city": "Tokyo",
    "hours": 2.2,
    "time": "2h10",
    "transfers": 1,
    "estimated": false,
    "text": "Odakyu Romancecar Shinjuku→Hakone-Yumoto (~85 min), Tozan railway→Kōwakudani (~35 min), 5-min inn shuttle (reserve)."
   },
   {
    "city": "Kyoto",
    "hours": 3,
    "time": "3h",
    "transfers": 1,
    "estimated": false,
    "text": "Reverse of: Direct Tozan BUS Gōra/Sengokuhara→Odawara (~45 min — one seat; Tozan rail adds a Hakone-Yumoto change), then Tōkaidō Shinkansen→Kyoto (~1h50 on the ~2-hourly Odawara-calling 'Hikari'; 'Kodama'+change or ~2h40 all-Kodama otherwise)."
   },
   {
    "city": "Osaka",
    "hours": 3.4,
    "time": "3h25",
    "transfers": 2,
    "estimated": false,
    "text": "Midōsuji hop Umeda→Shin-Osaka, Tōkaidō 'Hikari' Shin-Osaka→Odawara (~2h05 — the same ~2-hourly Odawara-calling 'Hikari' the hakone>kyoto leg uses at ~1h50 to Kyoto, plus the ~15-min Kyoto–Shin-Osaka segment; 'Nozomi' skips Odawara and all-'Kodama' is ~2h40), then the direct Tozan BUS Odawara→Gōra/Sengokuhara (~45 min, one seat; the Tozan rail adds a Hakone-Yumoto change)."
   }
  ],
  "note": ""
 },
 "photos": [
  {
   "url": "/img/yamanochaya-0-bd90ed81.jpg",
   "tag": "bath",
   "width": 400,
   "height": 267
  },
  {
   "url": "/img/yamanochaya-1-bc1d35d5.jpg",
   "tag": "setting",
   "width": 400,
   "height": 266
  },
  {
   "url": "/img/yamanochaya-2-01778e25.jpg",
   "tag": "room",
   "width": 400,
   "height": 267
  },
  {
   "url": "/img/yamanochaya-3-e9f1982d.jpg",
   "tag": "interior",
   "width": 400,
   "height": 266
  },
  {
   "url": "/img/yamanochaya-4-0389cf7f.jpg",
   "tag": "food",
   "width": 400,
   "height": 133
  }
 ],
 "links": {
  "website": "https://luxury-ryokan.com/",
  "map": "https://www.google.com/maps?cid=543078095246273751",
  "jp_site": {
   "source": "Relux",
   "score": 4.6,
   "reviews": 190,
   "url": "https://rlx.jp/25107/",
   "as_of": "2026-07-10"
  },
  "flyertalk_reviews": [
   {
    "post": 552,
    "author": "LisainCA",
    "url": "https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/37127277-post552.html"
   },
   {
    "post": 756,
    "author": "FlyingTurk1",
    "url": "https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/37724173-post756.html"
   }
  ],
  "flyertalk_discussion": [
   {
    "post": 28,
    "author": "Smiley90",
    "url": "https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/34629138-post28.html"
   },
   {
    "post": 167,
    "author": "KI-NRT",
    "url": "https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/35559918-post167.html"
   },
   {
    "post": 288,
    "author": "Smiley90",
    "url": "https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/36151267-post288.html"
   },
   {
    "post": 289,
    "author": "KI-NRT",
    "url": "https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/36151277-post289.html"
   },
   {
    "post": 293,
    "author": "Smiley90",
    "url": "https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/36152211-post293.html"
   },
   {
    "post": 358,
    "author": "KI-NRT",
    "url": "https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/36370441-post358.html"
   },
   {
    "post": 434,
    "author": "FlyingTurk1",
    "url": "https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/36666876-post434.html"
   }
  ],
  "tripadvisor": []
 },
 "as_of": "2026-09-07"
}