Properties with Onsen in Karatsu

Breakfast buffet and dinner at the Japanese restaurant in the hotel were superb. Rooms were spacious, new, well lit, just a pleasure to stay in. Hot springs baths fabulous. Not cheap, but worth it!

The kaiseki dinner is very nice. Breakfast spread was good and varied. The onsen facilities in ryokan is very good, especially the open air bath area. The sand bath option is unusual, and the foot bath avail is nice too. Even as the staff mostly cannot speak english well, they were very helpful and assisted to their best efforts. The shop in lobby level is interesting with things to purchase.

Being my second Ryokan stay of this type, I'm still learning the standards. I'm very glad Ryokan Wataya allowed me to book the room for 1 person, since many other ryokan only allow bookings for 2+ people. Staff welcomed me upon arrival, taught me some ettiquette and showed me the facilities. There's an outdoor onsen that is swapped between mens and womens use daily. But there's also a second and third onsen as well (switching daily, open later). These onsen baths have certifications on their mineral content if that's your thing. These are in addition to the normal shower/bathtub in your room. I was lucky enough to utilize all three baths during my 1 night stay, with no one else bathing at the same times. There are english instructions on the walls with the proper bathing steps. Water in the onsens are toasty hot and a bit slippery as you'd expect from hotspring water. I stayed in the Japanese-style Standard room, which was picturesque in terms of what I was looking for. Everything lightly smelled like cedar, or perhaps it was the tatami mats. Far larger than I'd need, since it's a 4 person room. There's a mini fridge in the room (with prices) stocked with sake, beer, and some various sodas in-case you need a drink right now. Breakfast was a full japanese style breakfast, which is set out by staff at a prescheduled time chosen by you. I assume there's probably an option to have the meals brought to the room. The price is very good, especially based on the history and feel of the building, level of service provided, and the hotsprings. The staff (and I think the owner?) did very well communicating, even with my barrage of english.

Very nice Ryokan with nice Onsens. Absolutely lovely where the dishes as we are a family mix of omnivores and vegetarians- we got two different menues - both so delicious. Thank you!