Name: Chorakuen
Address: 323 Tamayucho Tamatsukuri, Matsue, Matsue, Matsue, 699-0201, Japan
Rating: 8

24-hour reception

Elevator/lift

Smoking areas

Smoke-free property

Heating

Garden

Adults Only

General

Non-smoking rooms

Room service

Rooms

Luggage storage

Services and amenities

Restaurant

Vending machine

Meals

Internet access

Internet

English

Japanese

Languages Spoken

Free parking

Parking

Conference Hall

Business

Massage

Beauty and wellness

Pets Not Allowed

Pets

Location

At the hotel

Izumo Airport

Miho Airport

Chorakuen

Matsue

3-2-19 checkin
3-4-19 checkout
Reservations through JTO (Japan Traveler Online)

I made reservations at this onsen in Matsue and paid in full 7 months in advance $500/night in August 2018.  I realized that there would not be many English speakers in rural Western Japan, but I was traveling with my son who is fluent in Japanese.

We arrived at Yunosuke-no-yado Chorakuen in the late afternoon after 8 hours of train travel.  The hotel had no records of our reservation.  We had to wait an hour in the lobby while the hotel staff huddled and tried to find our records.  Finally, they found our reservation and we were shown to a smoking room, even though our reservation stated non-smoking.  The room was dingy with a stained sink and peeling paint.  I called the manager and insisted on transfer to a non-smoking room.  The initial response was that another room was not available but we could transfer the next day.  I said that was unacceptable and a nice non-smoking room was made available.  We were compensated with sake at dinner. 

The next day, after returning from a day trip to Matsue, our room was not made up and we had to call management again to put away our futons and clean the bathroom with new towels.  Upon checkout, we were asked to pay the entire bill ($1000) even though I had prepaid 7 months prior! 

The staff was courteous and the Japanese meals were excellent.  The coed onsen was large, clean with beautiful surrounding gardens.  

Overall, I would not recommend this hotel for western travelers.  The hassle and multiple mistakes took away some of the pleasure from the meals and hot baths.

Mishaps

The Chorakuen ticks all the right boxes for a ryokan stay. Let's break it down:

1. Service is impeccable
We were late arriving and were the only ones on the courtesy shuttle from Tamatsukuri Onsen station to the hotel. We don't speak Japanese but the elderly driver and assistant took pains to try to communicate with us. We appreciate the effort. The bus stops at a sister property where we got off for some coffee and cake while waiting for other guests (there were none but we appreciated the cake and coffee while waiting). Once we arrived, hotel staff rushed out to greet us. They were were already anticipating our arrival. Staff try very hard to communicate and this is something  I deeply appreciate. We were brought to our rooms, given a quick overview, served tea and sweets in the traditional style once in the room. Everyone, from front desk to dinner/meal attendants were very hospitable and warm. 

2. Great onsen choices
The ryokan has two types of bath facilities - one the usual combo of indoor/outdoor baths within the building and the other, its main highlight - the largest outdoor baths (shared mix gender bath) in Japan. The rules are slightly bent here in that ladies have a tube towel for modesty and the men can wear shorts provided into the bath.  Typically in other mix gender baths I have been to, this is not a given. I have mixed feelings about this but can understand that as a business, catering to more foreigners or even younger Japanese who may not be comfortable in mixed baths, that this is now allowed and catered for. Bath water was great and it was nice being in the same pool with my whole family for a change. Being in heated water with a light winter rain falling was a beautiful experience. The other usual indoor/outdoor gender-specific baths were also good. 

3. Good food
We were given a private dining room for our party of 7. The food was excellent although we struggled with the crab - it's really us being noobs at eating the much-vaunted Matsuba crabs for the first time. However, every other dish is excellent. Breakfast was traditional Japanese and again, was of a high quality in service, presentation and taste. 

4. Restful comfortable sleep
Rooms were sizeable, each with a balcony, a small traditional entry way, baths and toilet. As with the usual ryokan experience, we left for dinner and returned to find our futons all laid out. Excellent  sleep quality here with the sound of a rushing waterfall as our ambient sleep noise. 

5.Gorgeous extensive gardens
This ryokan had one of the most generous gardens I have seen. As a strolling garden, the hotel has given various  view stops for guests to stop, drink in the view and move on. Each pavilion shows a different aspect. There are private suites as standalone houses in the large garden, each with private gardens and entrances. They look expensive but beautiful. 

Overall, this ryokan gave the best of both worlds - it was old-school ryokan service and atmosphere in a largish/mid-size modern building. While it was clearly a modern complex, it did not lose its touch as a traditional ryokan. This is rare and valuable in a tourism scene where increasingly large and impersonal hotels/resorts tout themselves as ryokan. I think it and the surrounding Tamatsukuri Onsen needs two days/nights to do it justice. Pity we only stayed one. For the price we paid, not too steep, it was worth every cent.

Excellent ryokan stay

The water from insensitive in the air are reportedly medicinal and cure all forms of ailments. Having been to many around Japan, it is a common claim everywhere. However, I left the hot spring with surprisingly smooth skin. Suffering from psoriasis, this was an amazing improvement which I haven’t experienced for a long time. Magic or not, seems to help. Dining experience was the usual amazing selection of food presented beautifully. I couldn’t put all the food up due to photo limitations. Worth a visit 

Magical onsen water

i travel and stay all around chugoku region, hiroshima, kurashiki, okayama, matsue, nagato, miyajima, and i am certain chorakuen at matsue is my best stay. Thank you very much for your hospitality, magnificent food and beautiful onsen. if i ever travel to chugoku region again, i will be sure check in with chorakuen. Best regards from hong kong!

my best stay in chugoku region

This is located at a onsen 20 minutes by hotel shuttle from Matsue.  The hotel is a delight with an inside pool (separate men and womens' pools and a mixed outside.  The hotel stay includes kaiseki dinners and breakfasts - and the laiseki dinners were delicious and creative, e.g. yuba creation by ourselves at our table.  The waitresses were very pleasant and helpful.  I don't know if it offers western meals because we were not opting for that.  The staff more more than helpful and we were able to get to Matsue and other sights easily.  For an onsen stay, the only thing missing is mountains.

Chorakuen

Main amenities of the hotel

Location

Available rooms

Location

Description of the hotel

What other amenities are there?

Policies

Check-in terms and conditions

Additional information

Payment