Ryokans in Sakurai

I can’t say enough good things about this place. It is truly a traditional ryokan stay. Accommodation - The rooms are spacious, very clean, you get all the amenities you can imagine, it has an onsen and the food is delicious. Staff - The staff is beyond wonderful - we were greeted by name when we arrived and throughout the stay. And the staff actually put the effort to pronounce my name correctly (not the Japanese version of it). Not everyone speaks English but honestly it doesn’t even matter. I would like to say a big “Thank you” to Shimoda-sama who served us dinner for two nights. She is such a lovely lady and so was the rest of the staff working there from the receptionist to the door attendants who would run to the door when we would arrive. I also think we were the only people in the hotel for the first 2 nights. Food - The food was delicious and served in a private, big room. It wasn’t cheap though and we had to order it in advance (same day in the morning) because we didn’t pre-book it. There aren’t a lot of options to eat nearby either, being in a quite remote location. There is a restaurant at the temple across the road but it closes at 3 PM. Location - The location is a bit remote but it’s beautiful, in the woods and across the road from an ancient temple, maybe one of the most beautiful I’ve seen in Japan so far. There is a bus station next to the hotel but the buses don’t come very often - maybe once/hr? The hotel also offered us a free shuttle bus at certain times. I would recommend to take a walk/ hike to Asuka village from the hotel. We made a day trip out of it because it can take a few hrs but it was all worth it. We saw wild wisteria, walked through rice fields, empty hills filled with flowers and saw wild monkeys in the woods.

The staff was exceptional welcoming! It was wonderful that we were given a choice between a traditional Kaiseki or the Asuka Nabe for our second night dinner. The Asuka Nabe was savoury and other side dishes were delicious as well. We will definitely recommend Wakasa Annex to other family members.

Staff were kind and helpful. The property was nice and comfy!

Beautiful setting in the woods, very nice/warm hosts. Very large space

This is the worst Ryokan experience. For over $550 a night, this hotel is a joke! The room is very small, and lack electrical outlets to plug in our own electric devices to recharge - we had to unplug the TV in order to plug in the plastic electric tea kettle to heat water for tea. The dining experience was also terrible - since this place does not have a dining room, both breakfasts and dinners had to be served in room - which would have been OK except the food was very bad, the fish stale, and I found black spots on the strawberry they were serving. The dinner process was long and drawn out over close to two hours because the maid would come and deliver one dish, then wait for another twenty minutes to deliver another dish. By the time dinner was finally over, we were exhausted. The first dinner was so bad, we forgo our money and went elsewhere for the second night's dinner which we had already paid for - yes it was that bad and we could not put ourselves through that again. I have had wonderful experiences with ryokans in other cities in Japan, and this one was a fraud. Avoid at all cost.

Incredible location in a very quiet part of town. Lots of temples in the direct vicinity. We were able to participate in temple rituals in the morning, and dinner and breakfast were both delicious.

Very traditional Japanese stay experience. The tatami is very comfortable. Host is wonderful and very communicative over the app. She cooked us an amazing traditional Japanese breakfast.

very kind, warm and welcoming staff! very cozy and serene place to stay, highly recommend!