Hakone Kowakien Mikawaya Ryokan

Onsen was excellent and food is great. The staff were so welcoming and friendly and spoke English well. The massages offered are also a great find and great for couples. It was super convenient, as they come straight to your room. They offer taxi drop off to Odawara station so just ask.

The hotel is beautiful and the in room onsen shower area is just so zen!

The food is absolutely amazing, the staff are very friendly, a local bus conveniently passes right buy it, they have a free shuttle to take to Gora which is the rope way station is. Their bath was slightly underwhelming but they have an option to use another public bath for free (5 minutes away). The room was clean and comfortable. It’s in a calmer and quieter area if that’s what you are looking for. Not much to do after dinner but very peaceful.

It was not very clean but it was ok. The welcome was not very good but the food was very good

Overall good but not as I expected. One of my family member had to leave early. They did not offer any extra meal portion to remaining family. Even though hotel already charge for the dinner. I am not returning.

We had a great stay at this hotel. It is right on a bus route with the stop right in front of the hotel. The included dinner and breakfast was also amazing, with traditional and western options for breakfast. Try the Hakone loop bus, boat, rope line (ie gondola) and cable car attraction when you’re staying.

Wonderful stay in an authentic ryokan with a long history. Property is visibly aged but generally extremely well kept and provides a top-quality yet very traditional ryokan experience. Food was excellent, staff mostly spoke very good English and were extremely friendly and helpful. Property is a little out of the way but has a bus stop right outside for going in both directions. It is also a short walk to catch a different bus to Gora.

Great staff and service! Everyone is very helpful and friendly. If you are looking to attention to detail this is the place to stay and relax on holidays.

Beautiful property. Hot springs were very nice and meals were out of this world.

Staff were the best in service and attention to detail. Main building had some construction ongoing as of 7/2025, but stayed in villa separate from main building. Villa was traditional in all aspects including tatami floors and sliding doors. Breakfast and set dinner meals were excellent providing variety of Japanese flavors and multiple courses of meals. Villa has indoor and outdoor private onsen. Public onsen was excellent clean and location was only 45 taking local bus from Odawara station to Ryokan.

日本人よりスタッフの外人さんが多かった。 思ってたより大浴場が小さかった。

Everything was excellent from checkin to checkout. Service was prompt, courteous and high quality. Highly recommend it!

Staff service was outstanding. Room was immaculate and well appointed with amenities. Food was incredible.

毕竟旅店已经上年头了。有点旧。不过卫生各方面都保持的非常好。露天浴室地板有点翘起来了。卫生间有点异味。谢谢

All of it was amazing

重要文化財の建物が素晴らしかったです。離れに宿泊しまして、懐かしい気持ちになりました。とても良い客室露天風呂から見る雑木林の風景が素晴らしかったです。

Beautiful surroundings, authentic Japanese experience, wonderful staff.

My dad and I are visiting from China, and this is my first time in Japan —lHakone. From the moment we arrived at Mikawaya, everything exceeded our expectations. We were delighted to experience such authentic Japanese cuisine. The service was thoughtful and attentive. We’re already looking forward to coming back — and when we do, Mikawaya will definitely be part of our trip again. 10/10 experience!!

It was set in a beautiful, lush area with bus access to many outings in Hakone. The hotel is an older one, with some renovations underway, but our room was big with a private bath fed by the hot springs, a definite highlight. Every dinner and breakfast was unique and flavorful. All of the staff was engaging and respectful.

We were excited to reserve two nights at this ryokan, as we were truly impressed by the beautiful photos posted on Expedia. Unfortunately, some of the photos turned out to be quite misleading. While the listing did mention that the property is over 100 years old—a detail we admittedly overlooked—it became clear upon arrival that the property is a little dated. Some areas of the carpet showed noticeable wear and tear, and we even spotted spider webs on the ceiling and in corners of the hallways, which was disappointing. One particularly surprising moment was when we returned from a day trip, carrying two handfuls of trash from our journey. Since it had been a rainy day and we’d been picking up drinks and snacks while driving, we hadn’t found a place to dispose of the trash earlier. I approached the front desk for assistance, only to be told to discard everything in the small bin inside our room. This response felt dismissive, especially considering the standard of hospitality typically expected at a ryokan. Dinner is usually something I look forward to at traditional inns like this, but I have to say the meals were just average—definitely not something I’d rave about. If you’re driving up the mountain, you might find better dining options elsewhere. That said, the mountain view from our room was absolutely stunning and definitely a highlight of the stay. Overall, I’m sorry to say that the experience didn’t quite live up to expectations, especially given the price we paid.