Hakone Nanase

We stayed for two nights at this wonderful resort, and it felt like a dream. We booked a suite with a private onsen. The room itself was very large, and the beds quite comfortable. I can't say the same for the sofas, which felt as if they had seen better days and felt awfully springy; thankfully, we didn't need anybody to sleep on them overnight. The private bath was of course the main attraction, and it was just wonderful -- it was so enjoyable we took 4 dips just on the first day. We also tried the family bath down on the 1st floor one afternoon; at no point did they all look full and they were great for stretching out your legs and getting more space to soak in. The food was the other star here. Both dinners were spectacular. The food was traditional Japanese food, with no substitutions or changes; some of the dishes were certainly things we wouldn't have ordered if given the choice, but turned out delicious. For breakfast, we were not offered a choice but simply served a Japanese breakfast. I'm not sure everything was to my palette, but the parts that were were cooked to perfection. I'm talking some of the most perfectly grilled fish I have ever had. The front desk staff was impeccably polite and spoke English with no problems at all. They happily took our bags when we arrived hours before check-in, and even provided some maps of the area. No complaints at all. The resort looks close on the map to Kowakidani train station, but trying to walk the hilly road with no sidewalk while dragging two suitcases was not at all a pleasant experience. The hotel does offer a ride in their private van to/from the train station, which we took advantage of upon checking out and would recommend. Otherwise, the main transportation available is the H bus, which is convenient (running from Hakone-Yumoto all the way down to Lake Ashi), but only comes every 15-20 minutes, can be very crowded, and takes many many tight turns -- great for sightseeing but not recommended if you are bringing luggage!