Kamenoi Bessou
亀の井別荘
Area photo — not the ryokan itself · Mount Yufu from Yufuin Station · Kitayama / CC BY-SA 4.0
Yufuin's century-old forest retreat: Japanese guests rave about the space and the baths, and are more measured about the food
Kamenoi Bessou began in 1921 as a villa built by Kumahachi Aburaya, the figure behind Beppu's rise as a resort, and today it is a ryokan of 17 rooms: six Western-style rooms in the main building and eleven cottages set across a 30,000㎡ forest garden beside Lake Kinrin. It has held two MICHELIN Keys in every Japan selection from 2024 to 2026. The Japanese accounts agree most strongly on the atmosphere: one reviewer's verdict was simply that 'the space is the best thing about it', another that the appeal is 'the air within the grounds' — and in 2026 almost every review singles out the staff's hospitality; one leading booking site averages 4.89 across 123 reviews (4.77 for food). Every room has its own bath of source-fed simple alkaline hot spring water, and the two large baths, Hoshi-no-yu and Kusa-no-yu, swap between men and women each night. Cottage guests eat in their cottage and main-building guests in the in-house restaurant, Keikaen, with Oita wagyu at the centre. Food is where opinions divide: one well-travelled ryokan blogger found nothing memorable beyond the beef, and a detailed June 2026 review found most dishes cold and the rice mushy at about ¥180,000 — yet a 2025 repeat guest found dinner 'dramatically better' than years before. Other honest caveats: the famous name raises expectations that a quiet, deliberately dim, low-key inn doesn't always meet for the price, older buildings can mean cold corridors, and the lake just outside draws crowds of day-trippers and tourists — though the grounds beyond the thatched gate are for guests only.
Latest updates
What newer Japanese stay reports, posts and official notices have added since this review was written
Re-checked against the official site and 2026 stay reports: the inn now lists 11 cottages and 6 main-building rooms (17 in all), Cottage 7 reopened as a 140㎡ special room, and a head chef's counter, Jūbankan, opened in January 2026. The inn holds two MICHELIN Keys, and main-building guests dine in the Keikaen restaurant rather than in their rooms.
Room Selection Guide
What the guests who stayed here actually recommendRecommended
Cottage no. 7 (special room, 140㎡)
Rebuilt and reopened in 2025 (one magazine dates the renewal to October 2024), it is now the inn's largest unit: two twin bedrooms sleeping four, a new source-fed open-air bath and an all-hinoki indoor bath, its own garden and deck, and meals served at the table in the room. Guests in 2026 praised its space, the open-air bath and the glass study. From ¥84,000 per person with four sharing.
Cottage no. 16 (Japanese room with open-air bath, 70㎡)
An 8-tatami main room plus a 5-tatami anteroom, with both an indoor and an open-air bath of continuously flowing source water — the combination a December 2023 reviewer credited for the inn's biggest strength, its sense of space.
Hyakuban-kan (special Japanese-Western cottage, 120㎡)
A large cottage sleeping up to six, with a private cypress open-air bath separated from the indoor bath by glass. A June 2020 couple paid ¥176,000 including tax and service and described it as luxurious time 'full of privacy'.
Cottage no. 3 (Japanese living room + Western twin bedroom)
Chosen for its layout: a tatami living and dining room for both meals and a separate bedroom with twin beds, plus a hinoki bath of hot-spring water and a private garden with a view of Mount Yufu.
Request To Avoid
Main-building Western rooms, if you want in-room dining or are travelling with children
The main-building rooms are the value option (from ¥53,900 per person with two sharing and two meals; two-person stays from about ¥118,580 on one booking site). They do have their own source-fed indoor baths (Okuyufu has an open-air one), but meals are served in the in-house restaurant, Keikaen, rather than in the room, and children of primary-school age and under are not accepted — families need a cottage plan.
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Dining Deep Dive
Breakfast Consensus
4.3/5Served in your cottage (main-building guests eat in Keikaen), with a choice of Japanese (grilled fish, miso soup, sashimi, vegetables) or Western (a fluffy omelette) — both with freshly baked bread, starting at 8:00 or 9:00; one guest chose a seared Oita wagyu shabu as the Japanese main
If food is your priority, ask about the Jūbankan counter plan (Tuesday to Thursday only, three groups a day) — or, as one experienced ryokan reviewer suggests, book breakfast only and eat dinner in town; the rooms and baths are the reason to stay here.
Dinner Insights
4.0/5Kaiseki centred on Oita wagyu, served between 18:00 and 20:00 in the cottage for cottage guests and in the in-house restaurant, Keikaen, for main-building guests. A 2020 menu included salt-grilled young ayu, charcoal-grilled Oita wagyu, and soba with tempura, and the cottage fridge was stocked with complimentary sake and sparkling wine. Reviewers praise the beef but often describe the rest as competent rather than memorable; a guest who returned in 2018 felt the presentation had become more subdued after a change of head chef, a 2025 repeat guest found dinner 'dramatically better' than before, and a detailed June 2026 review complained of mostly cold dishes and mushy rice. Since 10 January 2026 the head chef has also personally served a seasonal special kaiseki at Jūbankan, a kappo counter open Tuesday to Thursday for three groups a day; a September 2026 guest called it superb.
Onsen & Wellness Realities
Simple alkaline hot spring, colourless and odourless, from four sources on the property, run as continuously flowing baths in the rooms and the shared baths. Guests describe it as leaving the skin smooth; one found the in-room bath a little hot.
Every room has its own source-fed bath: cottages have indoor and, in some, open-air baths (Cottages 5 and 7 gained new open-air baths in their 2024–25 renewals), and the main-building rooms have indoor baths, with an open-air one in Okuyufu. The two large baths — Hoshi-no-yu, with one outdoor bath, and Kusa-no-yu, with two including a round tub — swap between men and women at midnight, so guests can try both.
Not addressed in any source we read. Every room has its own source-fed bath, so you can bathe privately without using the shared baths.
Local Warnings & Nuances
- 01
The inn sits right by Lake Kinrin, one of Yufuin's busiest sights, and 2026 reviews mention crowds of tourists in town — but only guests may pass beyond the thatched gate into the grounds.
- 02
It's quiet and dim by design: rooms are deliberately low-lit (a point raised in 2025 and 2026), the TV is low-key and there's little to do at night, which one Japanese guide notes some guests find dull for the price. Older buildings also show their age, with reviews mentioning cold corridors and old gas heaters.
- 03
Children of primary-school age and under are not accepted in the main-building rooms; cottage plans accept children, with co-sleeping for under-6s.
- 04
On the grounds are a teahouse, Tenjō Sajiki, which becomes Bar Yamaneko in the evening, and a shop, Kagiya, selling local crafts and food; several 2026 guests enjoyed a record-listening session on a gramophone in the lounge.
- 05
A free shuttle runs daily 10:00–16:00 from JR Yufuin Station and the Ekimae Bus Center (book ahead); drivers get free parking for 11 cars, valet parking and one EV charger. Check-in is 15:00, check-out 11:00, and a ¥250 bath tax has applied since October 2024.
Before your stay
Souvenirs from Yufuin and practical help for your trip.
Yufuin souvenirs on Rakuten
Rakuten prices as of Oct 18, 2026 — check the shop for current price and stock. Supported by Rakuten Developers Rakuten links are affiliate links: we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
Things to do nearby
Yufuin: sights, experiences and seasonal events from Trip Gacha, our sister site.
Sources
The real blog posts and stay reports this article draws on
- 「亀の井別荘」(九州／由布院温泉) (いい旅館訪問記)
- 亀の井別荘（前編） (鉄道で行く旅, Ameba)
- 由布院温泉 亀の井別荘に泊まる (4travel.jp, by shokochinn)
- 由布院 亀の井別荘 15番館 (4travel.jp, by heizaemonn)
- 亀の井別荘の特徴と魅力と最悪と言われる理由 (温泉ガイド onsen1.org)
- ＜亀の井別荘＞由布院温泉｜森の庭園に囲まれて湯を愉しむ (旅色)
- 由布院 亀の井別荘 本館 ｢園林｣ (4travel.jp)
- 美しき庭を愛でる静かな宿「亀の井別荘」｜モダンに進化してももてなしの心は変わらない (Precious.jp)
- 離れ「特別室」7番館 リニューアル (亀の井別荘 公式サイト)
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Read the guidePhoto credits
- Mount Yufu from Yufuin Station · Kitayama / CC BY-SA 4.0
- Notoya Ryokan, Ginzan Onsen (Obanazawa, Yamagata) · さかおり / CC BY-SA 4.0
- Omiyage Kaidō, ekie, Hiroshima Station · Michael Ocampo / CC BY 2.0
- Gora Kadan — the former Kan'in-no-miya imperial villa, Hakone · 663highland / CC BY 2.5
More Consensus Reports
Area photoYufuinLuxury
Kawakami, Yufuin, Oita — twelve detached villas on a quiet hillside about 5–10 minutes by car from Yufuin Station
9 sources
Sanso Murata
由布院 山荘 無量塔
Twelve villas built from relocated old farmhouses, each with its own onsen, and a bar with a 1930s theatre speaker — Yufuin's most atmospheric hideaway, if you don't need a view or a big bath
- Private Onsen Rooms
- Design-Led
Area photoYufuinPremium
Kawakami, Yufuin, Oita — set back from the Yunotsubo shopping street, a couple of minutes' walk from Lake Kinrin and about 15 minutes on foot from JR Yufuin Station
9 sources
Yufuin Souan Kosumosu
由布院温泉 草庵秋桜
A 12-room 'cooking inn' remodelled by Seven Stars train designer Eiji Mitooka, steps from Lake Kinrin, with free-flowing spring water in every bath and open-air tubs in the cottages — but it sits on Yufuin's busiest strip, the shared baths are small and the cheapest rooms have only a shower
- Private Onsen Rooms
- Destination Dining
Area photoYufuinPremium
Kawakami, Yufuin, Oita — a woodland garden about 15 minutes' walk from Yufuin Station
9 sources
Yufuin Tamanoyu
由布院 玉の湯
Sixteen cottages in a woodland garden, each with its own free-flowing hinoki bath, and a breakfast soup people call Japan's best — but dinner splits opinion
- Private Onsen Rooms
Area photoYufuinPremium
Kawakita, Yufuin, Oita — a quiet wooded foothill about 2 km from the Yunotsubo shopping street, 5 minutes by car from JR Yufuin Station and 3 minutes from the Yufuin interchange
11 sources
Yufuin Sanso Warabino
由布院温泉 山荘 わらび野
A 1988 inn rebuilt in concrete after the 2016 earthquake: 13 modern suites in a wooded garden, each with its own free-flowing onsen bath on heated stone floors, and noon check-out — Japanese guests rate it near-perfect, but most baths are indoor tubs with opening windows, not true open-air baths
- Private Onsen Rooms
- Design-Led
Area photoYufuinPremium
Kawakami, Yufuin, Oita — 18 detached cottages on about 33,000㎡ of wooded hillside beside a stream off the Shirataki River, about 7 minutes by car from Yufuin Station
10 sources
Yufuin Gettoan
ゆふいん 月燈庵
Eighteen detached cottages in the woods outside Yufuin, each with its own free-flowing onsen bath, reached by a suspension bridge from a 300-year-old farmhouse — the food wins praise, but the main-wing rooms are dated, the room baths are small and enclosed, and the paths are hard going
- Private Onsen Rooms
- Secluded Retreats
Area photoYugawaraClassic
Oku-Yugawara, Yugawara, Kanagawa — at the end of the bus line about 20 minutes from JR Yugawara station, in a ravine below the Hakone outer rim
10 sources
Oku-Yugawara Tsubaki
奥湯河原 海石榴
A sukiya-style inn at the end of the Oku-Yugawara bus line, with in-room meals, a prize-winning five-room guest house and a much-praised breakfast — but its onsen is recirculated and the standard rooms' baths aren't onsen at all
- Private Onsen Rooms
- Design-Led
Photo credits: Mount Yufu from Yufuin Station · Kitayama / CC BY-SA 4.0 / The Fujiki river through Yugawara Onsen, Kanagawa · Quercus acuta / CC BY-SA 4.0
Kamenoi Bessou
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