Gora Hanaougi
強羅花扇
Area photo — not the ryokan itself · Gōra Park, Hakone · Daderot / CC0
Twenty compact rooms, each with an open-air bath of the inn's own reddish spring, tatami corridors you walk barefoot, staff who remember your name — and one of the few Hakone ryokan that openly welcomes tattoos
Gora Hanaougi belongs to the Hanaougi group from Takayama. According to bloggers, the group opened it in 2009 in a renovated former staff retreat of Shinjuku ward. Its 20 rooms are small rather than grand, mostly 36㎡ plus a 12㎡ terrace on the ground floor, but every one has an open-air bath of the inn's spring, piped from the source of the former sister inn Sōunkaku (closed after the 2019 typhoon). The water is a reddish sulphate-bicarbonate spring at about 49°C, and the in-room baths are free-flowing. Japanese guests rate it highly: 4.69 across 58 reviews, 4.79 across 335 and 4.6 across 879 on three major sites. Bloggers from 2022 to 2026 praise the barefoot tatami corridors, the staff's warmth and the in-room baths with mountain views. The official FAQ states plainly that guests with tattoos may use the large baths. The caveats: rooms are compact and some have worn fittings. Dinner is good but uneven, and a January 2025 reviewer found the beef mostly fat. Several 2025 reviewers found only water in the 'free' fridge, and there are no vending machines nearby.
Room Selection Guide
What the guests who stayed here actually recommendRecommended
Ground-floor bed rooms with terrace (1F ベッドタイプ テラス付き, 36㎡ + 12㎡ terrace)
Eleven of the 20 rooms. Bloggers in 2022 and late 2024 found them small but plenty for two, with views over the Hakone mountains, and one found the room cleaner and newer than the website photos suggest. The slope means the 'ground floor' sits at second-floor height, so a May 2026 guest had good views of stars and sunrise from the bath.
Special rooms 210 and 211 (75–82㎡) and the semi-special room (62㎡)
The only rooms with real space, and children are allowed. Gift-voucher prices for two with both meals are about ¥124,000–140,000 for a special room, against ¥86,000–96,000 for a standard room. One July 2025 reviewer felt a special room was 'just bigger', so choose it for space, not for extras.
Request To Avoid
Second-floor bed and tatami rooms (36㎡), and anyone travelling with children
The 2F rooms don't allow children, and nor does the adults-only fillet-beef plan; families need a special or semi-special room or a 1F terrace room. Some 1F terrace rooms can't see the Daimonji bonfire on 16 August. Bloggers and reviewers in 2022–2025 noted a worn sofa, grime around a sink and a bath door that didn't close properly. In 2026 one reviewer mentioned a step at the room entrance that was easy to trip on, and another found they had to carry suitcases over the tatami.
Know which room you want?
Check live rates and availability for Gora Hanaougi.
We may earn a commission if you book through these links, at no extra cost to you. Affiliate disclosure
Dining Deep Dive
Breakfast Consensus
4.5/5A Japanese breakfast in a private dining room, with a choice of rice or rice porridge and hoba-miso grilled on a magnolia leaf
Call from Gora Station when you arrive (15:00–18:00) and the inn's car comes in about five minutes; drivers can park at the inn, but the drive is steep. Early check-in and paid late check-out aren't offered. There are no vending machines in or near the inn, so order drinks through room service.
Dinner Insights
4.4/5A monthly kaiseki by a chef trained at a Kyoto ryōtei, served in private dining rooms (never in your room) at 18:00, 18:30 or 19:00. Bloggers in 2021–22 had Hida beef steak cooked on a ceramic plate, kue in saikyō miso and hamo. Current plans list Japanese beef (fillet on the upgraded plan), and two-night stays switch to shabu-shabu. A September 2026 blogger finished every dish. Complaints include a small rice bowl and fruit-only desserts (2021–22), steak slices that were 80% fat (January 2025), only paid bottled water at meals (December 2025), and watery tea (June 2026).
Onsen & Wellness Realities
Gora Onsen from the inn's own source: a calcium-sodium-magnesium sulphate-bicarbonate spring, weakly alkaline, about 49.3°C, faintly reddish-brown. The in-room baths are free-flowing (you can add cold water); a 2021 blogger was told the indoor large bath recirculates while its open-air baths flow through.
Every room has its own open-air onsen bath, so most guests use the large baths only once. The large baths, named Sōun Kakurezato no Yu, are fixed by sex (no swapping). The men's side has an indoor bath and rock and granite open-air baths, and the women's has an indoor bath, rock and Shigaraki-ware open-air baths and a powder room. Open 15:00–24:00 and 5:00–10:00; no handrails, no private-hire bath. A March 2022 guest found about eight people there before dinner, but most 2024–26 guests had it to themselves. One 2025 reviewer found mineral crystals on the stones sharp underfoot.
Tattoos are allowed. The official FAQ states that guests with tattoos may use the large baths.
Local Warnings & Nuances
- 01
Check-in 15:00–18:00, check-out 11:00.
- 02
Children aged 0 to pre-school pay a ¥3,300 facility fee without meals or bedding; a children's meal can be ordered.
- 03
Photos are largely banned in public areas, according to several bloggers.
- 04
Several 2025 reviewers found only water in the fridge where earlier guests had free beer and juice. The official plan page still says fridge drinks are free, so check on arrival.
- 05
Not to be confused with Gora Kadan (強羅花壇), a different inn nearby, or with the sister inn Gora Hanaougi Madoka no Mori.
Sources
The real blog posts and stay reports this article draws on
More Consensus Reports
Area photoHakoneClassic
Tonosawa, Hakone, Kanagawa — on the Hayakawa River, about 15 minutes' walk from Hakone-Yumoto Station
9 sources
Fukuzumiro
塔之沢温泉 福住楼
A Meiji-era wooden inn where Soseki and Kawabata stayed — in-room kaiseki, a giant round pine bath, no tattoo rules, and shared toilets down the corridor
- Historic Ryokan
- Tattoo-Friendly
HakonePremium
Gora, Hakone, Kanagawa
11 sources
Gora Kadan
強羅花壇
A former imperial villa, Michelin three-key rated, with spring-fed baths and famously attentive staff — superb in the top tiers, but 2026 reviews are more uneven in the standard rooms
- Private Onsen Rooms
- Historic Ryokan
KyotoLuxury
Fuyacho-Anekoji, Nakagyo, Kyoto — in the city centre, a short walk from Kyoto City Hall
8 sources
Hiiragiya
柊家
Kyoto's 1818 inn of writers and film stars — near-flawless service and kaiseki, koyamaki-wood baths, and no hot spring
- Historic Ryokan
- Destination Dining
Photo credits: Gōra Park, Hakone · Daderot / CC0 / Gora Kadan — the former Kan'in-no-miya imperial villa, Hakone · 663highland / CC BY 2.5 / Hiiragiya — the frontage on Anekoji-dori, Kyoto · Mariemon / CC BY 3.0
Gora Hanaougi
Compare rates across trusted booking partners · Affiliate disclosure