Yagyu no Sho
unscored · Ikyu 4.7 / 5no first-hand write-up in the thread
A 15-room sukiya-zukuri classic in Shuzenji, a few lanes from Asaba, grown from a 1959 Kyoto-kaiseki ryotei. Every room has its own free-flowing onsen, open-air in six of them, which is the strongest in-room bathing in Shuzenji. Thread glimpses are warm (one member, back for a second stay, still calls it an excellent pick), and Ikyu guests give it 4.72 over 34 reviews but split sharply: the regulars rank it with the best in Japan, while others found the service rigid for the price.
Scores
Food
Dinner is a Kyoto-style kaiseki served in your room (the house grew out of a 1959 Kyoto ryotei), and KI-NRT calls the cuisine sublime; at Ufufu down the road, by contrast, meals are counter dining. Head chef Kanda's menu follows the seasons, and a salon serves brandy and grappa after dinner. Ikyu guests put the food at 4.85, repeat guests say the kaiseki is what brings them back, and praise for the kitchen runs through otherwise divided reviews.
Bath
Every one of the 15 rooms has its own free-flowing onsen, and in four rooms and the two detached villas the bath is open-air; KI-NRT names in-room onsen in every room as one of the things it shares with Ufufu down the road. Ikyu guests put the bath at 4.91, the highest mark they give the inn.
Service
EK017, back for a second stay in 2025, had an attendant who was very warm, friendly and helpful and took care of everything, and the Ikyu regulars call the service first-class. Ikyu guests put service at 4.68, but two 2025 reviews go the other way and find it rigid and just ordinary for a top-class price.
Room
The 15 rooms are sukiya-style, and KI-NRT calls it a very traditional ryokan, for better or for worse. Ikyu guests put the rooms at 4.53, one of their lower marks for the inn, though the regulars admire the traditional craftsmanship of the rooms. EK017's room Meigetsu had a dining table and real chairs instead of floor cushions.
Place
Yagyu no Sho stands in the Shuzenji onsen village a few lanes from Asaba, wrapped in the bamboo garden it is named for. It is quiet, with little contact with other guests. EK017 enjoyed the gift shop, full of local paper crafts (the area is well known for its paper), and the inn features in an English coffee-table book of renowned ryokans that KI-NRT praises.
Getting there
- Tokyo — 1h45, 0 transfers. 'Kodama'/'Hikari' Tokyo→Mishima (~45-55 min, every ~30 min), then the flat-rate cab into the Shuzenji valley (~40-50 min, book with the room). No self-handled change. Rail alt: Izuhakone Sunzu line→Shuzenji (~35 min) + short taxi, +1 change.
- Kyoto — 2h40, 0 transfers. Reverse of: The inn-bookable flat-rate cab Shuzenji valley→Mishima (~40-50 min; Asaba ¥12-15k, book with the room — Asaba runs NO shuttle), then the direct Mishima-calling 'Hikari'→Kyoto (1h50, ~2-hourly, dep Mishima :58 — reserve; hourly 'Kodama'+change fallback). No self-handled change. Rail alt: Sunzu line→Mishima (~35 min), +1 change.