Found a stinky bug in one of the dinner plates. And when I asked for the solution, their first response was just to change the plate like nothing ever happened. As a foreign tourist, I felt it was so disgusting, irresponsible, and insincere.

Excellent Ryokan situated in the Zao hot springs area. Staff greeted us at the Zao bus terminal and drove us the short distance to the Ryokan, where we were greeted by the manager who checked us in and showed us the baths and rooms. Rooms are very spacious, two tatami rooms with en suite bathroom and shower. There are two sets of baths - old and new - which both feature an indoor and outdoor section. All outdoor baths are wooden tub construction, perhaps 1.5m in radius. The inside baths vary in size, but are on the whole larger. The baths are sulphurous, but not the most pungent. The food is excellent - dinner and breakfast were both large kaiseki affairs, featuring local beef and various mountain vegetables, fish and pickles. Staff are very attentive, and a handful of them speak English, making this a viable destination for non-speakers.

Beautiful Japanese style hotel with lots of history. The food was hands down the best ryokan food we have ever had and the staff were polite and very helpful. Looking forward to our next stay!

I visited here with my wife in summer. Room was too old to be comfortable. Some chairs in our room were made of steel and too thin cushions made it difficult to sit on them comfortably. Moreover, only one air conditioning unit equipped on a window in our bed room was noisy during night. And, as this hotel is located in a mountain, there were many slopes and stairs in the hotel. So, I was reluctant to go to hot springs on the first floor. Food was not so bad. We could enjoy local seasonal food. Hot springs themselves were not bad, but old equipments in bath rooms were noticeable. Totally, it was questionable to me about whether it was worth paying $200 for a overnight stay.

Stayed here for two nights. The Onsen quality in Zao is superb. It's very similar to that of Kusatsu. The hotel sits on top of a small hill that you can't access by car. It's definitely not wheelchair friendly. Be also prepared to climb stairs inside the hotel, as it doesn't have an elevator. The exterior and interior of the hotel is kept in a classical, but modern Japanese way. You can get rooms with beds, or futons. We stayed in a wing of the hotel that offer private baths in the room. A bit pricey, but the rooms are very spacious. Our room was facing the hillside and a small stream. No view, but sitting outside in the bathtub, breathing in the cool mountain air and listening to the running water of the stream was pure Bliss. The water in the bath inside the room is not the same as the main onsen, but it is still very smooth and offers a bit of a break from the highly acidic Zao Onsen water. Food was good and service overall was top. We definitely had a good time here and would return.

Gorgeous, lovely place to relax. Accommodating staff, delicious meals, wonderful rooms and great onsen. A wonderful location. Meals served in a central area instead of your room.

Came during ski season in Feb20, 10mins walk from Zao Bus Terminal with decent number of convenience stores and local wares shop along the way. We got the Japanese style room with western beds, and also at highest floor (which meant alot of stairs climbing as no lift in this historic building of a ryokan tip: skip big luggages). Room charge came with breakfast / dinner (tip: ryokan offers Zao beef shabu shabu upgrade for a fee), as well as 2 free public onsen baths onsite (male / female separated as usual) and also private onsen (half outdoor basis, good enough for 2 only @ JPY 2700). Room has windows that open in bedroom / living room, with small fridge and safe. Very traditional setting given long history, ryokan also provides yukata attire and indoor slippers to explore the place, and also boasts of using 'soft water' throughout their facilities ie bath, tap etc, and also provides spring water for consumption in room. We like that the room had at least 3 warmers (especially great for wet gear). Shower is good, with strong water pressure and good temperature control, with combined small bathtub and walk-in shower. Ryokan also provides free 1-way shuttle service (at 4 - 4.30pm), if not, a good 20mins walk, for dropoff at Zao ropeway for Zao snow monster viewing (ticket self purchase at station, tip: do both day and night illumination when you reach Zao ropeway by 4.30pm, since sun sets around 5.15pm and it takes around 15min to get to 2nd station for viewing). Do check if hotel can provide return transfer basis post snow monster night viewing (which should be done by 6pm if you reach ropeway by 4.45pm).

Heads down the best hotel in Zao Onsen and probably in the surrounding area. Rooms at Takamiya Miyamasou are spacious, extremely well thought of, with a very nice vibe, and super clean. Food is exceptional, with a special mention to Yamagata beef they serve for dinner, which is out of this world. Hot spring baths are amazing too (but very hot and acid). The only minor drawback is that the ryokan set up air conditioning in a way that prevents you from shutting down the window fully.

It is a long-established Zao hot spring inn. The food was very delicious. The atmosphere where you can feel the history is a very quiet and calm inn.

We stayed two nights here. Very old and rich with history. The conditions were great for its age and well maintained. The half-board food service was immaculate with kaiseki for dinner. We took the bus from Yamagata Station and walked 8 mins to the ryokan (easy walk). We climbed a few steps to the hotel and room but was fine. Onsen was great

Zao Onsen's "Mikkasanso Takamiya" has a history of more than 400 years, and the Emperor of Japan once stayed there. This shows that this prestigious hotel is unique and extraordinary. "Takamiya" has 9 types of hot springs, open 24 hours a day. If tourists visit Zao Onsen in the snowy winter, relax in the old hot spring town, stay in "Takamiya" and soak in a thousand-year-old hot spring, and feel the snow country style of Northeast Japan, they will It is a very wonderful enjoyment.

overall not value for money as we paid more than double c/w hachimantai heights & furofushi & about 40% more than wakamatsuya takamiya old ryokan nice traditional ryokan with rich history…manager keep reminding us built 307yrs ago ryokan is well maintained but limited because of structure lobby hall is small but cozy rustic got coffee but no tea nice place for people who really love old places & history room below average, among the poorer of the 10 ryokans we stayed this tohoku trip Though it has a separate bed area, there is no settee, chairs or sofa, only the mobile seats with cushion & a table with sunken in area for legs from the raised bed..well design not so ergonomic to use with no back support..so we ended up using the lobby lounge more onsen very small, very cramped shower area for 3 showers no much room for design etc it is the only ryokan where Wi-Fi really sucks..room Wi-Fi non existent…though connected and showed 3 or 4 bars WhatsApp always show connecting..so if WhatsApp cannot connect, google etc also cannot lobby wifi better end up using own data ======== extensive kaiseki dinner @ takamiya 高见屋ryokan this a special sukishabu dinner 1 appetisers good standard fine it specially tasty 2 steamed abalone - Lisa’s one was perfect texture, mine was over so tough ☹️ 3 dobinmushi was best standard, very 清sweet dashi with matsutake mushroom, chicken and prawn 4 sashimi small serving, sake sashimi best quality, nevitoro good quality, ika ok, & konyaku ok 5 grilled sanma 秋刀鱼good standard tasty decorated with ginkgo and maple leaves with chestnut and ginkgo nuts 6 zao beef sukishabu good standard, beef very tasty, lots of fat (see amount of fat on rice bowl) not the best cut, about かたくりの花 standard, not quite hachimantai heights standard 7 simmered unagi served with eggplant, taro and flatbeans good standard 8 cold soba ok standard 9 dessert ok standard ======• a average good breakfast @ takamiya not as fine & tasty as wakamatsuya breakfast