Asaba
あさば
Area photo — not the ryokan itself · Shuzenji Onsen, Izu · 663highland / CC BY-SA 4.0
A 540-year-old ryokan with a working Noh stage, and service that isn't always as polished as the history
Real accounts of this family-run ryokan — founded in 1484 and now in its tenth generation, a Relais & Châteaux member that was promoted to three Michelin Keys in the 2025 selection — converge on the same centerpiece: Gekkeiden, a genuine working Noh stage across the garden pond, donated by a descendant of a feudal domain lord and relocated here in the late Meiji era by the seventh-generation owner. Guests consistently describe watching it from their room as the single most memorable part of the stay. The honest complication is service consistency, which several accounts treat very differently: some call this 'a ryokan that represents Japan,' while at least two detailed reviews describe specific lapses — one guest was audibly sighed at by staff after requesting an extension cord, and a separate review reported a previous guest's trash left in the room along with audible noise from the neighboring room at night. None of this contradicts the strength of the cuisine or the in-room hot-spring baths, which draw uniform praise; it just means the service experience here is less uniformly flawless than the property's reputation might suggest.
Latest updates
What newer Japanese stay reports, posts and official notices have added since this review was written
Re-checked against the official site, 一休 and 2026 stay reports: the inn now has 12 rooms after a 2023 renovation (not 16), its shared bathing is men's and women's open-air baths with no private rentable bath, and every room bath is source-fed. It was promoted to three Michelin Keys in 2025, and recent guests note the okami's absence at check-in and check-out.
Room Selection Guide
What the guests who stayed here actually recommendRecommended
"Moegi" Suite (萌葱)
A 152m² suite on the second floor with a pond and Noh-stage view; one detailed review specifically compared floors and concluded the second-floor vantage 'blends into the garden' more than the ground floor does. The in-room bath is a freshly maintained, source-fed alkaline simple hot spring (源泉かけ流し) rather than a shared facility.
Request To Avoid
Ground-floor rooms with the same pond outlook
Not a bad room, but one direct floor-by-floor comparison found the second-floor rooms integrate visually into the garden and Noh-stage scene noticeably better than the equivalent ground-floor view. If the Noh stage is why you're booking, ask specifically about floor placement rather than assuming any pond-view room delivers the same effect.
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Dining Deep Dive
Breakfast Consensus
4.5/5The "okaka gohan" — rice served with bonito flakes shaved fresh at the table and a touch of wasabi
Dinner leans hard on Izu-specific ingredients rather than generic kaiseki staples — matsuba crab, conger eel black-rice sushi, and fried tiger blowfish were all named in the accounts we read. If you want the most locally distinctive version of the meal, ask what's specifically from the Izu coast that day.
Dinner Insights
4.5/5The kitchen's reputation rests on regional Izu ingredients used with real specificity, not a generic seasonal kaiseki template — accounts consistently name the same handful of standout dishes (matsuba crab, anago black-rice sushi, tiger blowfish karaage) rather than describing interchangeable courses, which is itself a signal of a kitchen with a clear point of view.
Onsen & Wellness Realities
An alkaline simple hot spring (アルカリ性単純温泉). The official room pages mark every room's bath as source-fed (源泉かけ流し), and 一休's listing says all baths, shared and in-room, are free-flowing — though its FAQ also notes some water is added (加水) to the 100% spring water. A spring 2023 renovation merged rooms: a magazine feature says eight of the former 16 rooms became four, and 一休 now lists 12 rooms.
Every room has its own source-fed bath. Beyond that, the shared bathing is a men's and a women's open-air bath (野天風呂) reached through the bamboo grove; 一休's facility table marks no large indoor bath and no private rentable bath (貸切風呂) — older reviews that mention one predate the 2023 renovation.
No policy found — contact the inn. Since every room has its own source-fed bath, guests with tattoos can bathe privately without using the shared open-air baths.
Local Warnings & Nuances
- 01
Access takes real time: the JR Limited Express (Odoriko) runs directly from Tokyo Station to Shuzenji Station — the line's terminus — in a little under two hours, followed by about a seven-minute taxi ride (roughly 3km). The inn runs no station shuttle. Check-in is 14:30 (done privately in your room), check-out 11:30, and children are accepted from age 7 (younger children only in the detached Tenko suite).
- 02
The property's history is a genuine part of the experience, not just marketing color: founded in 1484 when an ancestor of the current family opened a lodging house at the gate of a temple that ancestor served, and now run by the tenth generation — one of the older continuously operating ryokan in Japan.
- 03
Service consistency is the real, recurring caveat in the record. Alongside strongly positive accounts, at least one detailed review describes staff visibly sighing when asked for an extension cord, and a separate review reported finding a previous guest's trash still in the room plus audible noise from next door at night. Worth knowing going in, even though it doesn't appear to be the universal experience.
- 04
The Noh stage, Gekkeiden, is a real, functioning stage donated by a descendant of the Kaga-Daishoji domain's ruling family and relocated here in the late Meiji era. Performances are not nightly: the inn runs a ticketed seasonal programme (the 2026 'Asaba Cultural Journey' had nine performances between March and June, booked through OMAKASE), and several winter 2026 guests describe a taiko performance on the pond.
- 05
Recent reviews (Sept 2025–Aug 2026) keep the scores very high (一休 4.76 from 53 reviews), but three separately note that the okami never greeted or saw them off, and two that skincare amenities weren't left in lower-grade rooms — they are brought on request. Premium extras such as spiny lobster and abalone, and all drinks, cost extra.
Before your stay
Souvenirs from Izu and practical help for your trip.
Izu souvenirs on Rakuten
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Things to do nearby
Izu: sights, experiences and seasonal events from Trip Gacha, our sister site.
Photo credits
- Nijinosato Illumi the Night 2026: Batholith / Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
Sources
The real blog posts and stay reports this article draws on
- 紅葉の伊豆修善寺温泉『あさば』 池と能舞台ビュー「萌葱(152㎡)」宿泊記(ブログ) (4travel.jp)
- 伊豆修善寺温泉「あさば」宿泊記 １泊目 (4travel.jp, by yundy)
- 伊豆修善寺温泉「あさば」宿泊記 ２泊目 (4travel.jp, by yundy)
- 【冬の伊豆旅行】憧れの修善寺あさば(到着～客室編) (4travel.jp, by tsuco)
- 良い宿ですが惜しい・・・ - あさばのクチコミ (じゃらんnet)
- あさば - クチコミ・評判 (Yahoo!トラベル)
- あさば - クチコミ・評判 (一休.com)
- アクセス・お問い合わせ (あさば公式)
- 金継ぎをよく出される体質？ ② 修善寺 あさば 醤油小皿一つから考えた事 (note, 2026-06)
- 500年以上にわたって愛され続けてきた名旅館が満を持してリニューアル｜修善寺「あさば」７つの秘密 (Precious.jp, 2023-12)
- ホテル格付け「ミシュランキー」発表! (マイナビニュース, 2025-10-13)
- 舞台 — あさば芸術紀行 (あさば公式)
- 客室 (あさば公式)
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Read the guidePhoto credits
- Arai Ryokan — the entrance, Shuzenji · Batholith / Public domain
- Shibu Onsen, Yamanouchi, Nagano · David McKelvey / CC BY 2.0
- Matsumoto Kiyoshi, Himeji Station, Hyogo · Corpse Reviver / CC BY-SA 3.0
- Otani Sanso — the main building above the Otozure river, Nagato Yumoto Onsen · Raita Futo / CC BY 2.0
- Gora Kadan — the former Kan'in-no-miya imperial villa, Hakone · 663highland / CC BY 2.5
More Consensus Reports
Area photoIzuPremium
Shuzenji Onsen, Izu, Shizuoka — in a bamboo grove about 10 minutes by taxi from Shuzenji Station
9 sources
Yagyu no Sho
柳生の庄
Fifteen sukiya rooms in a bamboo grove, Kyoto-style kaiseki in your room and empty garden baths — superb food and calm, but some rooms are showing their age
- Private Onsen Rooms
- Destination Dining
Area photoIzuLuxury
Yugashima Onsen, Izu, Shizuoka — where two rivers meet to form the Kano river in the Amagi foothills, about 20–25 minutes by the inn's shuttle from Shuzenji station
10 sources
Ochiairo
おちあいろう（旧 落合楼村上）
A registered-heritage Yugashima inn from 1874, now run as an all-inclusive luxury ryokan with celebrated saunas — but only three rooms have pure spring-water baths, and the 2025 switch to a swimsuit mixed bath splits guests
- Historic Ryokan
- Private Onsen Rooms
Area photoIzuPremium
Izu-Nagaoka Onsen, Izunokuni, Shizuoka — a 1929 Mitsubishi family villa set in a 3,000-tsubo garden, reached by the inn's free shuttle from Izu-Nagaoka Station
9 sources
Sanyoso
伊豆長岡温泉 三養荘
A Mitsubishi family villa with a garden by Ogawa Jihei and a wing by Togo Murano, where every room has its own onsen bath — superb for architecture and gardens, less so for anyone who minds long corridors or wants a showpiece dinner
- Historic Ryokan
- Private Onsen Rooms
Area photoIzuClassic
Izu-Nagaoka Onsen, Izunokuni, Shizuoka — a small inn in the Nagaoka spa district, 9 minutes by bus (or a free pickup on request) from Izu-Nagaoka Station on the Izuhakone Railway from Mishima
13 sources
Izu-Nagaoka Onsen Fukuritei Ogawaya
伊豆長岡温泉 福狸亭 小川家
A century-old Izu-Nagaoka inn rebuilt around travelling with small dogs and cats: pets roam free in 16-tatami rooms, kaiseki dinner and breakfast are served in the room, and there's an onsen foot bath just for dogs — but the large baths are up a long staircase, neighbouring dogs bark, and the private baths cost extra
- Easy From Tokyo
Area photoIzuClassic
Izu-Nagaoka Onsen, Izunokuni, Shizuoka — a low-rise garden inn in the Nagaoka spa district, about 10 minutes by bus from Izu-Nagaoka Station on the Izuhakone Railway from Mishima
10 sources
Izu-Nagaoka Onsen Yumeguri no Yado Yoshiharu
伊豆長岡温泉 湯めぐりの宿 吉春
A 1952 garden inn built for 'bath-hopping': five free private open-air baths you simply walk into when they're free, two large baths and ten rooms with their own outdoor tub — but the spring water is heated and recirculated, the stairs make it a maze, and the facilities are starting to show their age
- Private Onsen Rooms
- Easy From Tokyo
Area photoIzuClassic
Shuzenji 874-1, Izu, Shizuoka — on the Katsura River at the entrance to Shuzenji Onsen, right opposite the Shuzenji Onsen bus terminus (about 8 minutes by bus from Shuzenji Station, which is about 30 minutes from Mishima on the Izu-Hakone Railway) and about 35 minutes by car from Numazu IC
10 sources
Yukairo Kikuya (Kyoritsu Resort)
湯回廊 菊屋（共立リゾート）
The 400-year-old Shuzenji inn where Natsume Sōseki convalesced, now a Kyoritsu Resort of long corridors, four free private baths and an almost all-inclusive drinks list — loved for its atmosphere and beef stew, but the main baths are recirculated, the private baths are often taken and the dinner gets mixed reviews
- Historic Ryokan
- Easy From Tokyo
Photo credits: Shuzenji Onsen, Izu · 663highland / CC BY-SA 4.0
Asaba
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