Sanga Ryokan

7. Sanga Ryokan, Kurokawa Onsen (pt.1) ★★ Stayed overnight. Located far from the center of Kurokawa — about 20-25 minutes on foot. Had dinner and breakfast: dinner is served in the room, breakfast in a separate space. Checked in late in the evening with only one time slot left for private baths — no problem getting all three booked. The outdoor bath is available for higaeri usually from 08:30 to 21:00, rarely a shortened day during the week. Included in the Kurokawa tegata. They issue Toreco cards for the onsen. They stamp the 88 Kyushu Onsens passport. A very strong aspect of the ryokan is the architecture of the grounds. It's essentially a collection of separate buildings, structures, and objects creating the effect of a mini village. This is especially powerful in the evening — there are practically no people around, everything looks sacred and mysterious yet natural. You feel like you're walking through a location from a Japanese version of The Witcher. The combination of moving between onsens, objects, and buildings in the evening is magnificent. Staff was Japanese, but there were several notable service issues: 1. My luggage was being delivered from another ryokan separately from me, and Sanga's staff for some reason checked with that ryokan about the number of guests and on their own downgraded my kaiseki from double to single (I had paid for double kaiseki). At the previous ryokan I had ordered and eaten double kaiseki. I checked in late evening and they couldn't do anything about it, dinner was with single portions. As corrections: they made breakfast double, paid 6500 yen compensation at checkout for one dinner, and gave very clear instructions about double kaiseki when delivering luggage to the next ryokan. 2. Confirmed that the formerly mixed outdoor bath became men-only from July 2024. An era has passed. They couldn't clearly explain this at check-in and it sounded like the reason was that it made men uncomfortable. 3. My private bath slot overlapped with kaiseki and I had an hour for it. For single kaiseki that's more than enough time, but the in-room service was very slow with long waits between courses. As a result, I had to leave for the private bath before dessert to not miss the slot (they left the dessert in the fridge and notified me at reception when I returned the private bath key). The dinner impression was somewhat marred by the service mistakes, but breakfast was in a separate cozy space, with a great menu, double portions, and delicious. Even though the ryokan lost its mixed bath and had service issues, the reserve of quality at this amazing place is very large and it's still recommended for a stay. I recommend specifically for an overnight stay, as the place reveals itself fully in the late evening, and as a bonus — overnight guests have access to a great private outdoor bath. 08.04.2025 09.04.2025

7. Sanga Ryokan, Kurokawa Onsen (pt.2) ★★ About the onsens: 1. Outdoor stone bath. Used to be mixed, but now men-only. Under the roof there's a shallow zone and two gentle utaseyu (waterfall baths). Water is clear, slightly cloudy greenish-brown, temperature 42. The rotenburo fully reveals itself in the late evening. A dim, sacred atmosphere is created, and the feeling of merging with nature intensifies. Was sitting in the bath in the evening, looked toward the changing room (visible from the rotenburo), and there a spider had caught some bug inside the changing room and fell from above, but managed to release web and catch itself, then slowly climbed back up from the middle of the changing room with the bug. 2. Indoor bath. Water is clear, slightly cloudy greenish-brown, temperature 41.5. Breathing inside is good. 08.04.2025 09.04.2025 15.01.2025

7. Sanga Ryokan, Kurokawa Onsen (pt.3) ★★ About the onsens: 3. Private indoor Hinoki bath. One window by the bath opens. Clear water, temperature 42. Breathing inside is good. 4. Private indoor Kiriishi bath. You can open one panel, but there's a fence right there (behind it is the men's rotenburo). Clear water, temperature 41. Breathing inside is good. 5. Private outdoor round Oke bath. If you stand up, you can see the river. Very pleasant atmosphere. Water is clear, slightly cloudy, temperature 44. 08.04.2025 09.04.2025

Food at Sanga Ryokan: dinner menu with only two courses served (did not photograph the rest) and a full double breakfast 08.04.2025 09.04.2025

Day-use is available, included in the pass. The water is mostly clear, with a greenish-blue tint. Water temperature is medium. Under the roof inside the onsen there's a cool stone formation where you can basically lie down completely. It's a 20-25 minute walk from the station. The location itself is like a micro settlement in the middle of nowhere, very atmospheric. No large towels, small ones are 150 yen, no shower by the bath. The changing room for this bath is basically outdoors.