About Family Ryokan Kawakyu

Family Ryokan Kawakyu is a ryokan (traditional Japanese Inn) located in the town of Ibusuki in Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. Ryokan Kawakyu boasts Japanese-style rooms with Nitanda River views, green tea and traditional futon bedding.

The Nitanda River is known for its white egrets, so you may spot one from the room.

It has an indoor hot-spring bath with fresh hot spring water, separated into two rooms.

It serves Japanese cuisine in a traditional dining room where you sit on cushions on tatami mats and eat from lower tables.

Couples particularly like the location — they rated it 8.0 for a two-person trip.

I found this ryokan on booking.com. Here is the direct link to Family Ryokan Kawakyu.

Location

Family Ryokan Kawakyu is located in the town Ibusuki on the Satsuma peninsula, Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. Ibusuki is one of the southernmost towns on Japan’s main four islands.

Ibusuki sits at the bottom of Mt Uomidake, which has excellent views of Chiringashima island and Kagoshima Bay to the north, east and southeast. To the west sit Ikeda Lake (said to be the home of Japan’s Loch Ness monster), Seiryu Temple and the old Samurai town of Minamikyushu.

Gallery

About the space

Rooms at Kawakyu Ryokan are air-conditioned and include a low table with floor cushions, an en suite toilet and slippers. Guests bathe at one of two shared hot-spring baths and sleep on a tatami (woven-straw) floor.

The set-menu meals are served at the dining room. Breakfast is offered from 07:00-09:00, while dinner is served at 18:00. You need to make reservations for both beforehand.

The good

 Lovely traditional small ryokan near the ocean and has its own baths. I’ll be back!
 
This family ryokan (traditional Japanese inn) has a wonderfully warm and welcoming atmosphere. We arrived around 7 p.m. and had reserved dinner. The food was delicious. You eat traditionally (seated on cushions on the floor in a communal dining area) and the other guests were great company. We made many friends that night. The ryokan also offers two private onsen baths. If they are open, you can take a reservation sign and put it on the door to show that you are using it. The facilities were clean, the rooms were large and we could not have asked for a better stay. We did not have breakfast (none of us is breakfast people) but we have no doubt that it was as delicious as dinner! Definitely try the black pork that the area is known for!

The bad

here was nothing about this ryokan that I did not like. The staff (husband and wife) were excellent hosts, and the facilities, while well-used and not new, were of a good cleanliness standard and good quality. I would be happy to spend many more nights here in the future.

Response to my review

Here is what the owners had to say:

Hi there, my friend. Thank you for choosing us this time and good review. Your comments will be helpful for other potential guests who are going to visit this place. That’s great. Thanks again and looking forward to seeing you again.

Hideaki

What I did while there

We stayed at Family Ryokan kawakyu as part of a road trip of Kagoshima Prefecture’s Satsuma peninsula. We only stayed for one night but we had an amazing time, making use of the private hot spring and the dining area.

Before we arrived, we had spent the day Exploring Sakurajima – Japan’s Most Active and Beautiful Volcano.

When we arrived, a large party of middle-aged to elderly Japanese people were having a very raucous dinner. They were visiting from Tokyo for a wedding that weekend in Ibusuki and were enjoying themselves immensely, including with a lot of alcohol. They invited us to join and there was no opportunity to say no! We had an excellent time and learnt a lot.

Afterwards we continued to the central area and southern coast of the Satsuma peninsula.

Verdict

I would definitely stay at Family Ryokan Kawakyu again. The husband and wife team who ran it were excellent hosts, the other guests were friendly and it was very reasonably priced. It was also well located and easy to get to. While there were only a couple of parking spots for cars (about 1 for every 3 rooms or so), we did not have any trouble parking.

All of this combined with the atmosphere and how well we slept (granted we had been very busy that day) means I would definitely go back.

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