Yumotoya

The hotel overall, and my room specifically, had a lot of wear and tear: the western portion of my room had sizable stains on the carpet and splatter marks on the walls (The tatami portion of the room was fine). The hallway carpet was also stained and lumpy in places and the wallpaper was peeling. The 4th-floor bath also showed signs of wear; slats were missing from the trellis over the outdoor portion. The 6th-floor bath for groups or couples included more conveniences, such as lotions, razors, toothbrushes, and a playpen that a baby could sleep in, but one of the lights flickered the entire time, making it difficult to relax. The most disappointing part of my stay was the lack of clarity in the reservations portion of the website. I'm a website-savvy person who has stayed in ryokan before and I can say there was *zero* indication in my reservation that I had chosen a package that did *not* include the traditional kaiseki dinner that one expects -- and understands to be included -- in a ryokan stay. Upon checking in, I was shocked and disappointed to find out that I had no dinner provided that evening and that I would have to look elsewhere. The staff did nothing to try to help or explain; they suggested I go to a konbini (convenience store). It was so disappointing and left me scrambling to find dinner in a very quiet part of town. Yumotoya's reservation system (I found it through *******) should include a written notice or warning if a reservation does not include dinner; otherwise it is easy to feel tricked. The kaiseki breakfast was decent and the woman serving me was kind.

We chose Yumotoya because it was much less expensive than many other ryokan in the Matsumoto area and we were traveling on a budget. So it didn't come as a big surprise that the building is a bit dated and could use a coat of paint and some new carpet. Our room safe didn't work; neither did the fridge. The air conditioner was adequate to cool the room we slept in, but didn't extend to the outer room or the bathroom. The tea in the room was self-service, though the water in the carafe was fresh and hot. That said, it was still a really nice experience. The onsen are sparkling clean and the outside one offers a nice view over the city. The staff speaks limited English, but they were helpful in trying to fix our room safe, helping tie my yukata, even escorting us to the bus stop in the morning. The dinner was just wonderful. In fact, that meal definitely brought my rating up to four stars. Our server was delightful and each course was delicious. Arrive at dinner hungry, because there were at least 10 courses (I lost count), including a lovely selection of tiny appetizers. Breakfast was also generous and beautifully prepared. Overall, it's not the height of luxury that you find at some ryokan, but the food was as good as any I've had in Japan.