My wife and I splurged for a single night at Tsubaki Ryoukan during our Japan holiday, and we loved it. We took a taxi from Atami which cost us around $50aud, but there are buses that go up to the hotel as well. The building and it's rooms are very traditional, and upon arriving we were given some freshly brewed matcha while watching the koi swim around the pond in the garden atrium.
Our room overlooked a small garden too, which was lit up beautifully at night. Unfortunately we were a little too early to see the maple leaves turn fully red, but I can only imagine how beautiful it must look when they do. The onsen itself was dreamy, and we must have taken at least 6 baths in the single night we spent there!
The included kaiseki meal was wonderful, but ended up being too much food than we could comfortably eat all at once! Regardless, it was all delicious and our housekeeper was so sweet and patient with us, despite my poor Japanese skills.
My wife and I are both heavily tattooed so could not make use of the main public bath, but we knew that going in, and took full advantage of the private bath in our room instead. If you are looking for a more retro luxury ryoukan experience I would highly recommend Tsubaki!
