Auberge Suzukane
A · 8 / 10anchor a leg
Suzukane is a corporate-owned ryokan in the center of Bandai Atami run by a former wedding coordinator, with a full suit of knight's armor at the entrance, and the reasons to stay are the food, the warmth of the staff and the big renovated rooms with source-fed in-room onsen. KI-NRT loved it and regretted nothing, but was plain that nearby Atamiso is on a slightly higher plane, because Suzukane is in town with only a courtyard for outdoor space and its dining is half-private. It is the one to pick when creativity at the table matters more to you than the view out the window.
Scores
Food 4.5 / 5
The kitchen does creative kaiseki with subtle European accents (it cooked French until about eight years ago), and KI-NRT called the dinner exceptional: onion mousse with caviar as a dip for raw purple asparagus, Miyagi oysters he found sublime, and portions bigger than at the other inns on the trip. The one miss was the carpaccio-style abalone, which they would rather have had cooked. Breakfast was among the top five he has ever had at a ryokan.
Bath 4 / 5
Every room has its own bath of free-flowing, direct-source Bandai Atami spring water (a favorite of KI-NRT's), and the VIP room Kinu adds an open-air onsen and a ganban-yoku, a dry sauna where you lie on heated stones. He found the private onsen delightful but a bit snug for two. The two private rental baths, Kane-no-yu and Suzu-no-yu, each have both a hot and a cold spring pool, which makes them enjoyable in summer as well.
Service 4.5 / 5
The staff were outstanding, and the okami Mayumi Suzuki, a former wedding coordinator who took the role in 2020, served dinner in a tag-team with the nakai Ms. Amitou, who was professional, attentive and always available. When KI-NRT mentioned going on to Nanyo the next day, the okami came back with a binder of maps, route options and printouts of the attractions, and he said she bent over backwards to ensure a wonderful stay.
Room 4 / 5
Every room is 90 square meters with a Western living area, a tatami room and a bedroom with proper beds. Kinu, the VIP room, was renovated in October 2024 in a low-key modern Japanese style with the latest technology and artistic touches, and it is the one with the open-air bath and the hot-stone spa. Next to Atamiso's traditional rooms, which show slight signs of age, KI-NRT found these the more modern and better equipped.
Place 3 / 5
Suzukane is in the town center of Bandai Atami, and its only outdoor space is an inner courtyard leading to the guest rooms, so there is no garden and none of the seclusion of Atamiso ten minutes away, whose manicured grounds KI-NRT calls spectacular. This is where Atamiso holds the edge for him: a more tranquil setting, and private dining where Suzukane's half-koshitsu arrangement lets the sound of neighboring guests intrude.
Getting there
- Koriyama — 0h25, 1 transfer. Ban'etsu West line from Koriyama to Bandai-Atami Station is about 15 min, then a short taxi to Auberge Suzukane.
- Tokyo — 2h10, 2 transfers. Tohoku Shinkansen Yamabiko Tokyo to Koriyama is about 1h20-1h30, then the 15 min Ban'etsu West local to Bandai-Atami plus a short taxi.
Sources
FlyerTalk review #560 · TripAdvisor 5★ (May 2025) · #556 (thread mentions)