Gora Kadan
B · 7.5 / 10right inn, right place
A 39-room modern-Japanese ryokan in Gora and one of KI-NRT's 'Hakone holy trinity', with polished omotenashi, meals served in the room and onsen baths in the first-floor rooms only. It 'just missed my top ten' for him in 2022 and is still 'always a solid choice' in 2025, but by then members were asking about the many negative reviews of its condition, and the one dedicated review is a scathing late-2023 member stay (furniture falling apart, room not clean, food just OK) that urges others to avoid it. The service and the architecture seem intact, and the worry is the aging fabric.
Scores
Food 3.5 / 5
KI-NRT calls the food good, and he values the ability to have meals served in your room, which few of the Hakone competitors offer. The one dedicated review, TBD's late-2023 stay, found the food just OK, and nobody in the thread has raved about this kitchen.
Bath 4 / 5
Only the first-floor rooms have onsen baths; rooms on the second floor get regular hot water, so the room you are assigned decides your bath. The Kadan Suite Aoi has an open-air onsen bath in its own private garden.
Service 4.5 / 5
KI-NRT calls the omotenashi first-rate and the service polished, and Gora Kadan is one of the few ryokans he knows (with Shinsen and Myoken Ishiharaso) where the nakai, your room attendant, escorts you through everything at the property instead of just serving dinner. The inn also welcomes small children, with child-sized yukata, slippers and geta. TBD, the one member with a dedicated review, found the service friendly but not personal.
Room 2.5 / 5
Some of the rooms are quite small, and KI-NRT would go with Akebono or Akatsuki if they are available, and the Kadan Suite Aoi (private garden, open-air onsen bath) as a fallback. The condition of the rooms comes up again and again: TBD found his room in OK shape but the furniture falling apart and the room itself not clean, and by 2025 members were asking about recent reviews describing areas in need of repair and maintenance.
Place 4 / 5
The architecture is modern Japanese, centrally located in Gora, and KI-NRT says it is exactly this architecture and ambiance that give Gora Kadan a slight edge over the plethora of competitors in the area; he groups it with Ginyu and Yama no Chaya as the Hakone holy trinity, and Hakone itself has plenty to do, with Mt. Fuji views from Lake Ashi and Owakudani. TBD found the atmosphere not very private.
Getting there
- Tokyo — 2h10, 1 transfer. Odawara Shinkansen + Hakone Tozan line/bus toward Gora ~2h12.
- Kyoto — 2h15, 1 transfer. Tokaido Shinkansen to Odawara + Hakone Tozan line/bus ~2h15.
Sources
FlyerTalk review #1 · FlyerTalk review by TBD #195 · TripAdvisor 5★ (December 2017) · #297 · #462 · #467 · #519 (thread mentions)