I had read previous reviews (as you do) before we went to the Biyunoyado and was happy to see it score so well but i was still pleasantly surprised with the place. From the moment we arrived the staff were lovely to the very moment we left, we decided to make the short walk back to the train station ourselves to stretch the legs before the train journey to sendai and we had one of the staff run over to ask if we needed a lift and we were also being waved off by two of the others. The Onsen are lovely, it's nice that they switch round so that you can enjoy both of the rooms, both are lovely so either way you are not hard done to! We also decided to rent the private onsen on the roof for the 40 minutes and i'm really glad we did, it was really relaxing and it was nice to have the time to ourselves and for such a small cost it's such a bargain! There's a free shuttle to the snow monkeys which is worth doing as the walk wouldn't be great, and we found the staff so welcoming and helpful, it really seemed like they were happy to help. We also decided to have the Japanese breakfast instead of the Western and i'm glad we did as it really enabled us to enjoy the full traditional experience, I can understand that it may not be for everyone but I would really urge anyone to give it a go. We stayed for 2 nights after doing the Magome to Tsumago Nakasendo highway and i honestly couldn't think of a better way to relax or rave about it more!