Hakone Kowakudani Onsen Mizunoto (Kyoritsu Resort)

Kyoritsu Resort's big Kowakudani inn: two different springs, three free private garden baths and freebies from ice lollies to late-night ramen at a mid-range price — but service is patchy, dinner slots go fast, and only some room baths use onsen water

Mizunoto is an 87-room onsen inn in the woods of Kowakudani, opened in 2006 by Kyoritsu Resort, the company behind the Dormy Inn chain. It is split into two wings, each drawing a different spring: Suika-no-shō has Kowakudani Onsen, Suigetsu-no-shō has Miyanoshita Onsen. Between them there are 13 tubs, counting three private open-air baths in the garden that are free and need no booking. Both bath areas were redone in 2023–2024, and the rooms and dining rooms in April 2025. Japanese guests rate it 4.4 across 6,577 reviews on one major site, with baths at 4.7 and cleanliness at 4.6, and 4.36 across 67 on another, where service scores lowest at 4.09. Bloggers who stayed from 2023 to winter 2025–26 liked the baths most. They also praise the hinoki terrace tubs, the in-room coffee mill and the stream of free extras: 24-hour lobby drinks, ice lollies and milk after the bath, dumplings in the early evening and late-night ramen. Dinner is big, and the plans several bloggers booked included free-flow drinks. The complaints from 2025–2026 are mostly about service. Plates were cleared mid-meal, water never arrived, front-desk replies were curt, and guests queued in a cold corridor for fixed dinner slots that were already gone at check-in. Others mention a third guest laying their own thin futon, slow drains, thin walls and a new parking fee. Rates on recent reviews run from about ¥18,000 to over ¥30,000 per person with two meals; one winter 2025–26 blogger paid ¥51,500 for two in a room with an onsen terrace bath.