Otani Sanso Ryokan ~Yamaguchi Prefecture~

Interested in going to a Japanese Ryokan? Here I will talk about my experience to Otani Sanso located in Yamaguchi Prefecture. A ryokan that includes onsen (hot springs), foot bath, a gallery, astronomical observatory, and much more. A trip where you can forget about your problems and just simply relax.

But first, let me explain my travels to Otani Sanso. Living in the city I thought I had everything figured out with transportation because it was fast and easy to get around. I also thought that I was a pro at commuting to different locations, but boy I was wrong. When traveling around places, doing your research is super important especially when it comes down to the “how” to get to the destination. I did not have a driver’s license and so traveling by train was the only option to visit this ryokan. Using my Suica (prepaid train card), I was off to the destination. However, when I took the train to 長門湯本駅/Nagato-Yumoto Station it took me 4 hours! I did not realize there was different path that included express train, I took the local train instead so that was my mistake. I could have saved myself an hour of travel but I didn’t mind too much because I enjoyed the scenery of the countryside. It definitely looked like I was living through “My Neighbor Totoro’s” world.

While I was on the train it made think, wait…are there any train staffs at Nagato-Yumoto station and how will I be charged since I already scanned my Suica at the ticket gate? My curiosity had me google Nagato-Yumoto station and as expected it was 無人駅/mujinn-eki/unmanned station. Which meant that I was not able to scan my payment with Suica because they don’t have the machine to do it there. Luckily, I noticed this before transferring to a different train so I went to the ticket counter, asked to cancel my Suica charge, and requested for the physical ticket. I’m glad I was able to switch the ticket to a physical one because I would have been stuck on how to pay! But now I know that when I travel it is best to check beforehand. So learn from me, check for a better route and if the destination is in a country area it could be an unmanned station so use a physical ticket instead.

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4 hours later……I arrived to Nagato-Yumoto Station! As you can see the station is completely empty that you will have to insert your train ticket at the the ticket box that is located near the exit. I also noticed on the train timetable that there is only one train per hour or per other hours. I needed to make sure that I take the right train home so I don’t arrive home too late (cause I just traveled four hours). Check-out time from the ryokan was at 10:00AM the next day so taking the 11:43AM train was the plan. The ryokan included a free microbus so if you plan to stay here call in advance to inform them roughly what time you will arrive to the station. Upon arrival, call them again that you have arrived and they will pick you up. The staff picked me up and then I checked-in. Upon checking in, the staff asked me how will I departure and provided this sheet paper.

Shown above, the top timetable is the train for Nagato-Yumoto station and the bottom timetable is for buses. Which was very helpful for those to decide what time they would like to depart. I already planned for 11:43AM departure and so I informed the front desk and the free microbus was scheduled for 11:30AM for the next day. After checking in was done, I was escorted to the lobby area where they served matcha and Japanese sweets! What a warm welcoming to the ryokan!

After resting and enjoying the snacks, I was escorted to the rooms!

After eating dinner, I saw on the map of the ryokan that they had foot bath right outside near the stoned-waterfall. And so I rested my feet in the warm water in the chilly night while listening to the waterfall. It was so quiet and peaceful. I felt relaxed and I haven’t started going to the hot baths yet.

Before booking the ryokan, I noticed that they have astronomical observatory which is exciting to me because I haven’t visited a place like that before so I reserved it. When it was close to my time slot, I walked towards the location. The astronomical observatory was located near a gallery of pots! Before waiting for our group’s turn to enter the observatory, I looked around to see some of Yamaguchi culture. Then it was our group’s turn to see the stars. I also saw the moon through the lens of the telescope and wow the moon was so beautiful and bright. That was actually my first time seeing the moon up close and I was in awe. This activity is free for overnight guests so please do reserve a slot ahead of time if you are interested in participating this activity.

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Went back to the room and saw that the futon beds were made! Such lovely service!

I changed into yukata to finally take onsen bath. The onsen was different from what I have visited because the baths are separated by floors, not by genders. Please make sure to confirm while checking in which floor is for men or women on a certain day. For example, the bath on the 1st floor will be available for women and the 2nd floor for men, the next day it will switch where the 1st floor bath would be available for men and 2nd floor for women. Double check with the staff so you don’t enter the wrong bath! For me, the night I arrived the 2nd floor was for women. The baths as always de-tresses me and the sound of the water flowing is just soothing. As I mentioned, outside was quite chilly and so being inside the hot water was perfect. If you know me well, you will know I love onsen. The way the hot bath can take your stress and worries away is the best feeling ever. After onsen, ice creams and drinks are a must to cool down from a hot temperature bath so I got myself strawberry milk au lait. Then it was time to hit the hay!

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The very next morning, I woke up and headed to all you can eat buffet! They have Japanese style and Western style dishes so you can choose many options.

After that I entered morning onsen, I recommend trying onsen in the morning because people are most likely getting ready to check out so if you would like little more alone time go for the mornings! The women baths are on the first floor for this day so it was nice that the sun was hitting my face in the cold crisp air.

After getting some relaxation, packed my bags then checked out and saw from the window that the cherry blossoms were blooming. Since I had 1hr and 30min before departure, I headed down across from the ryokan and enjoyed the scenery. It’s something about the sound of river flowing that makes this location so peaceful. This area barely had anybody walking around it. It was also a perfect spring weather too so was very lucky to have experienced this altogether.

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The staff said the cherry blossoms bloomed early this year so I arrived at perfect time! I didn’t expect to see cherry blossoms upon arrival, but it was a nice surprise! After taking bajillion photos it was time to go home. I wanted to eat something for the rode so I visited the bakery shop they at the ryokan and picked up myself a hotdog.

Although this trip was solely focused on this ryokan, there was plenty of activities to do that I wish I had more time to spend here. There were many firsts experience I had here and they were all an amazing experience. I really enjoyed my stay here and the staff’s service was fantastic. If you would like to try visiting to this ryokan please do! I highly recommend this spot.

Here’s a couple short videos I made on byte app of the trip check here for Day 1 & Day 2.