Kakui no Yado Shiunso is a 22-room hot-spring inn in Tonosawa, just up the valley from Hakone-Yumoto, built beside the Hayakawa River on the site of the former villa of Baron Okura Kihachiro, the Meiji-era industrialist. Before you book, three things matter: the inn closes on Wednesdays and some other days; dinner is a kaiseki meal served in your room; and it cannot serve vegetarian, gluten-free or soy-allergy meals.
Kakui no Yado Shiunso at a glance
| Item | Official information |
|---|---|
| Address | 92 Tonosawa, Hakone-machi, Ashigarashimo-gun, Kanagawa |
| Rooms | 22, including 6 special rooms |
| Check-in / out | 15:00 (last check-in 18:00) / 10:00 |
| Closed | Wednesdays and some other days |
| Hot spring | The inn’s own source, weakly alkaline simple spring, 54.2°C at the source |
| Meals | Kaiseki dinner in your room; handmade juwari soba |
| Extra charges | Bathing tax 150 yen per person; no service charge |
| Phone | +81-460-85-8511 |
From the official site, read October 20, 2026.
Before you book Shiunso: closed days and how booking works
Which days is the inn closed?
The inn posts a list of closed days: every Wednesday, plus a few extra days, such as December 15 to 16 and January 11 to 12, 2027. The phone is not answered on closed days, and the list notes that dates may change. Pick your dates on the booking page, which only offers open nights.
Can I book or cancel by phone or email?
No. The closed-day notice says bookings, changes and cancellations cannot be accepted by email or phone; use the website. Bookings open six months ahead, and the web plans cannot be booked through travel agents. The reservation center answers questions from 9:00, with calls taken until about 17:00, and emails are answered on business days, sometimes after a few days. For the year-end stay from December 26 to January 3, only special plans with advance card payment are offered.
On October 17, 2026, the inn also posted a warning about fake emails pretending to be the inn. It says it never asks guests to pay through a link in a direct message; if an email looks suspicious, do not open the link and call the inn first.
Onsen at Shiunso: river baths and two private baths
What kind of hot spring is it?
The water comes from the inn’s own source, over 70 tons a day, and is a weakly alkaline simple spring. The inn says part of it is recirculated and filtered to adjust the temperature.
When are the large baths open?
The men’s and women’s baths each have an indoor bath and an open-air bath along the Hayakawa River. They open from 14:00 to 23:30, and again from 6:00 until checkout. Baby beds are placed at the large baths.
Can I book a private bath?
Yes, two. The family bath Danshaku no Yu, made of old cypress, is free for 40 minutes per group; book it after you arrive. The open-air bath Kanzan no Yu sits across a suspension bridge on the far bank and costs 3,000 yen for 50 minutes; book ahead or on the day. It fits five or six people.
Can I bathe with a tattoo?
The official Japanese and English pages do not mention tattoos. Ask the inn before you book; the private baths are used by your group alone. Our tattoo and onsen guide explains what to ask.
Rooms at Shiunso
Twenty-two rooms sit on grounds of about 4,000 tsubo (over 13,000 square meters), with a bamboo path. Guests enter through a cool entrance cut into a single great rock, from the Shoriizan rock of the old villa, and the lobby has a chandelier shaped like cranes. Capacities below are from the Japanese room pages and include children and infants.
| Room | Up to | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Takeyamai | 4 | Special room, Japanese and Western, twin beds, private hot-spring bath |
| Wasabi / Kangetsu | 3 each | Special rooms with a private open-air bath (cypress / Shigaraki ware) |
| Kiun | 4 | Non-smoking Japanese-Western room, two semi-double beds |
| Danshaku / Koubai | 7 / 6 | Recreations of Meiji-era Japanese rooms |
| Deluxe (river / mountain) | 6 / 7 | Two Japanese rooms and a sunroom |
| Type A / Type B | 5 / 2–3 | Japanese rooms |
Do the rooms have beds and a private bath?
Only Takeyamai and Kiun have beds; in other rooms staff lay out futons after dinner. The FAQ says in-room baths use heated tap water, except the three rooms with their own bath (Takeyamai, Wasabi and Kangetsu), which use the hot spring. Rooms not marked non-smoking allow smoking. Wi-Fi is free in every room.
Meals at Shiunso
What are dinner and breakfast like?
Dinner is creative kaiseki served in your room; larger groups eat in a private room. Choose a start of 17:30, 18:00 or 18:30. Dinner includes juwari soba made every morning from buckwheat flour from Sorachi, Hokkaido, with no binder. Breakfast, at 7:30, 8:00 or 8:30, features dried horse mackerel from Odawara port and sea bream ochazuke. Extra dishes, such as abalone shabu-shabu or a Wagyu steak, are ordered five days ahead. Bringing your own alcohol is discouraged, with a corkage fee.
Can the inn handle allergies or a special diet?
Allergies are handled as far as possible, but because the meals are kaiseki, the Japanese FAQ says vegetarian, gluten-free, latex-allergy and soy-allergy meals are not possible, and ingredients in seasonings cannot be removed. Requests made on the day cannot be met, so contact the inn well in advance. Baby food is not provided; you can bring your own and staff will warm it.
Prices, children and payment at Shiunso
How much does a stay cost?
On one dinner-and-breakfast plan with three craft beers, the booking page showed per-person prices for two sharing from 27,200 yen (Type B, 8 mats) to 55,800 yen (Takeyamai), tax included. Prices vary by plan and date. There is no service charge; add the bathing tax of 150 yen per person. Hakone town exempts children under 12; see our onsen bathing tax guide. The booking page also showed a 3,000-yen web coupon.
What do children cost?
From junior high age, children pay the adult rate. Elementary-school children pay from 70 percent with a children’s kaiseki and bedding, and children aged 4 to 6 from 50 percent with meals and bedding. Infants pay 3,300 yen without meals or bedding. Rates can differ by plan, and a family plan waives the facility fee for children 6 and under.
What is the cancellation policy, and how do I pay?
Fees rise as your date nears, up to 100 percent on the day or for a no-show, and some plans have their own rule, so read the policy on your plan before you book; see our hotel cancellation guide. The inn takes Visa, Mastercard, JCB, American Express, Diners and UnionPay, in one payment only. If you book from overseas, confirm with the inn how and when to pay.
Getting to Shiunso in Tonosawa, Hakone
The nearest station is Hakone-Yumoto on the Hakone Tozan Railway, about 3 minutes away by car. By Hakone Tozan bus, take a bus for Togendai (T) or Hakone-machi-ko (H) for about 5 minutes and get off at Kami-Tonosawa, right by the inn. The FAQ says the inn does not run its own pickup. From Tokyo, the Odakyu Romancecar takes about 1.5 hours from Shinjuku to Hakone-Yumoto, or the shinkansen about 27 minutes from Shinagawa to Odawara. Parking is free; tell the inn in advance. For the rest of the area, see our things to do in Hakone.
What foreign guests should know before staying at Shiunso
- The inn has an English website and an English booking page, but some parts are still in Japanese or out of date. If two pages disagree, ask the inn.
- The English name appears as Kakui no Yado Shiunso or Kakuinoyado Shiunso; both mean this inn.
- Arrive by 18:00 if you can; later arrivals may miss dinner.
- Late checkout to 11:00 costs 1,650 yen per person.
- Phone lines are open in the daytime only and closed on Wednesdays; email may take a few days.
Frequently asked questions
Is Shiunso open every day?
Can I bathe at Shiunso with a tattoo?
Does Shiunso serve vegetarian or gluten-free meals?
What time is check-in at Shiunso?
Is there a service charge at Shiunso?
Bottom line (2026): Kakui no Yado Shiunso is a riverside onsen inn on Baron Okura’s old villa grounds in Tonosawa, with its own spring, two private baths, in-room kaiseki and handmade soba. Check the closed days, plan around the 18:00 arrival, and book on the official booking page.
Sources
Every fact on this page is from Shiunso’s official pages: home (Japanese), home (English), guest rooms, special rooms, onsen, cuisine, access, FAQ (Japanese), FAQ (English), the closed-day notice, the October 17 notice on fake emails, a plan on the official booking page and the official English booking page, plus Hakone town’s bathing tax page. All were read on October 20, 2026. Prices and rules change; check the official site before you book.
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