Beniya Mukayu
A · 8.4 / 10anchor a leg
A stylish Japanese-modern ryokan in Yamashiro Onsen that does almost everything right (a top suite KI-NRT called perfect, in-room onsen, gorgeous grounds, an excellent crab-season kitchen), and then serves dinner in one shared, echoing dining hall with no private or in-room option. That single flaw is why he gave it a rare reserved verdict, is "not in love" with it, and would try neighbors before returning, even as crowds and ryokan first-timers adore it. Book a top suite and the earliest dinner seating.
Scores
Food 4.5 / 5
Dinner in crab season was a definite highlight for KI-NRT, and the food was never his complaint: snow-crab dishes, grilled homemade sesame tofu, charcoal-grilled blackthroat seaperch in dashi, and a Noto-salt gelato with seared monaka, all done to perfection. He puts Nishimuraya and Matsusaki ahead of it for crab, and one quirk is the sushi arriving at the very end, when you are too full to enjoy it. Ikyu diners mark dinner 4.79 out of 5.
Bath 4.5 / 5
Every room has a private open-air bath of Yamashiro onsen water drawn direct from the source, though not the continuously flowing kind. From the Byakuroku Terrace Suite you slide the veranda glass open and soak facing the garden, where the green of the leaves pops out at you (KI-NRT found it mesmerizing). In-room tubs were renewed in 2022 and the public baths rebuilt in 2023, plus a well-known herbal spa. He has not described the public baths.
Service 3.5 / 5
Dinner service was a letdown for KI-NRT: unlike most luxury ryokans, no server is assigned to each group, so different dishes arrived from different hands and each was explained in a different amount of detail, which felt to him like a big hotel restaurant and not like a small family-run ryokan. He has not described the service outside the dining room. The house has a reputation for welcoming foreign and same-sex couples.
Room 5 / 5
The Byakuroku Terrace Suite, the top category, is 100 square metres with a separate bedroom and living room, dual vanities, an indoor terrace for cold days and an expansive private balcony over the garden; it was newly renovated when KI-NRT stayed, spotless and airy in earthy tones, and his one-word verdict was perfect, the type of room you spend the entire day in. A January 2022 guest ranked her two nights in Byakuroku among her best-ever stays.
Place 4.5 / 5
Behind the house is a tranquil moss garden with an old tea house and a stone pagoda, with lush forest all around, and a massive historic tree is lit up at night, which gives the whole place a "mythical" atmosphere. KI-NRT calls the grounds wonderful and the entrance pretty, though the forest is not quite as magical as at Takefue or Chikurintei. Yamashiro Onsen town is a walk away, and a family who stayed loved popping down to explore its shops.
Getting there
- Kanazawa — 0h35, 0 transfers. Kanazawa→Kaga-Onsen (~15–30 min), then Beniya Mukayu's free on-demand shuttle (~15 min; runs 14:20–18:00, call your arrival time ahead; returns every 30 min 8:45–11:15) — or a ~¥3k taxi.
- Tokyo — 3h, 0 transfers. Hokuriku Shinkansen direct Tokyo→Kaga-Onsen — 2h48 on the best pairing (Maps 2026-08-02, single line, no self-change), then the Beniya shuttle ~15 min (call ahead; inbound window 14:20–18:00). ⚠ Kagayaki skips Kaga-Onsen since the 2024 Tsuruga extension, so it is the through-Hakutaka you want; earlier departures that miss it run 3h06–3h47 with a change at Kanazawa or Tsuruga.
- Kyoto — 2h, 1 transfer. Reverse of: Beniya Mukayu shuttle→Kaga-Onsen (~15 min), 'Tsurugi'→Tsuruga (~37 min), cross-platform change (~10 min), 'Thunderbird' Ltd Exp→Kyoto (~55 min) — 2026-07 audit; the old ~1h30 used a stale pre-extension Thunderbird time.
- Fukuoka — 3h30, 2 transfers. Reverse of: Yamashiro Onsen sits right by Komatsu Airport: ~15-min taxi to KMQ, the KMQ→Fukuoka hop (~1h40, ~4 daily ANA/ORC), then the subway 2 stops into Hakata (~5 min). ~3.5h door-to-door — the shortest Hokuriku→Kyushu run.
- Nagasaki — 5h30, 4 transfers. Reverse of: ~15-min taxi to Komatsu + KMQ→Fukuoka (~1h40) into Hakata, then Nishi-Kyushu relay→Nagasaki via Takeo-Onsen (~2h). ~5.5h door-to-door.
- Kagoshima — 5h, 3 transfers. Reverse of: ~15-min taxi to Komatsu + KMQ→Fukuoka (~1h40) into Hakata, then Kyushu Shinkansen 'Mizuho'→Kagoshima-Chūō (~1h17). ~5h door-to-door.
Sources
FlyerTalk review #1 · TripAdvisor 4★ (November 2020) · Ikyu 4.84 / 5 · #40 · #54 · #314 · #347 · #662 · #735 · #763 · #819 (thread mentions)