Yoyokaku

Yoyokaku is a charming, historic, family-owned ryokan. It is located a relatively short distance away from Karatsu-jo (castle), and The Former Takatori House, the one-time residence of a wealthy coal baron. In fact, if you enjoy walking, Yoyokaku is only a 2km walk (0:30) from Karatsu Station and downtown Karatsu. It's often the people you meet along the way that make for a memorable trip and everyone at Yoyokaku was very friendly and helpful. We had a good time chatting with them. In fact, I believe that they gave us an upgrade when we checked-in, as we had a spacious room, with large windows overlooking the strolling garden. Karatsu yaki or pottery from the Nakazato family is prominently featured at Yoyokaku in three separate galleries within the building. The daiyokujou or gender separated public bath houses were a great way for me and my wife to relax. There is a very welcoming lounge/reading room where guests can also take a break and have a complimentary cup of coffee. During our stay, we opted to add a kaiseki dinner for the first evening. This was wonderfully prepared and artfully presented, one dish at a time, on beautiful pieces of Karatsu yaki. What a visual feast...and a very memorable meal. Cheers to the hospitality of the staff at Yoyokaku, and the culinary skills of their chef!

The experience in the traditional Japanese style ryokan was amazing. We arrived before check in. They welcomed us even we arrived early. The room was in 1st floor name of 'Genkai'. The room was able to open the large window that make us see the lovely garden. Even though it was rain during our staying, the garden was enough to enjoy for a night. The dinner and breakfast are so so nice. Me and my friend absolutely fall in love to yoyokaku. I want to say thank you for staffs of yoyokaku and really look forward to next our visit.

Yoyokaku offers a traditional japanese stay and that's exactly what you are getting on a very high level of care, execution and attention to detail. We stayed for 2 nights with breakfast and dinner. The food is really great and plenty. Impossible to go hungry, even when you don't like everything that is served. For the western visitor: Be clear and specific on what you don't eat. They cater for your needs and wishes but if it isn't mentioned, you might find something as part of the Kaiseki dinner you won't eat. But having that said, it is fine because there is plenty. I was lucky my partner eats everything and had a great time eating dished he remembered from home stays while he lived in Japan ages ago. The shabu shabu we had the other night was absolutely wonderful and had outstanding sauces accompanying the high quality beef and vegetables. The rooms are traditional with tatami mats and sleeping on a futon was really comfortable. We didn't try the communal onsen in the facility but I'm sure it is nice. We had a room on the first floor with a gorgeour view over the impecably maintained pine tree garden. It is so peaceful and quiet there, we would love to come back one day. We had the pleasure of meeting the (now retired) owner who still resides on the grounds and heard interesting stories of the long history of Yoyokaku and the adventures of his life. A great compliment to him and all staff members for all the care and hospitality they are putting in to make your stay a wonderful experience. Location: Direct neighbourhood is a quiet residential area. You can hear the waves from the beach when you open the window or sit in the garden. Karatsu castle and the small town centre are in walking distance (10 and 20 minutes). But you can ask to be shuttled there or to the trainstation as well.

This was probably the best Ryokan that we stayed at during one month in Japan. We had a car but it was an easy 20 minute walk into town. The building is beautiful & we loved the pine tree garden (thank you to the retired owner for showing us around the garden & sharing his passion). The breakfast was delicious & all the staff were so helpful & attentive, with excellent recommendations for eating out. We would have liked to have stayed longer .....

We loved our cozy and exquisitely refurbished tatami rooms. From our window, we had a superb view of its beautifully preserved courtyard. The hotel pampered us with high-quality skincare products by Pola. The onsen was well maintained and clean. The staff were friendly and genuine. They went out of their way to help us despite the language barrier and made sure we had good food recommendations.