Mizuno Ryokan

We absolutely loved the location and the staff.

But we were unpleasantly surprised by the 'life-sashimi' and Shirouo, live fishes in a bowl. If we would have known, we would have let the staff know

sea view (apparently true for every room and this means a full view of the ocean!); very clean; very helpful and friendly staff (who also helped carry our luggage to the car and lent us umbrellas for our visit to the castle on the morning after our stay), very old, traditional and well established "ryokan" (has been visited by members of the Imperial household also), spacious room, very quiet, excellent food for both dinner and breakfast (you should spend the extra money on dinner!) - but be open minded and aware that not all food served here could be served like this in a western restaurant, the atmosphere of ancient Japan.

- the bathrooms are well maintained and very clean, but they are getting a bit old, - the "ofuro" is a normal bathtub and not an onsen (but there are plenty of other onsen-baths in Kyushu if that is what you are looking for), - this luxury comes at a price. However, if it was a cheap stay, would we be able to value it as much as we currently do?

The staff were very friendly and helpful. The room was spacious and had an amazing each and sea view. The food was extraordinary! Great place which is a bit out of the way but great if you want to go to pottery towns in Kyushu!

We initially planned to stay at one of the ryokans which will be further away from Fukuoka but then we wished to go Osaka too so we ended up finding one that's nearer to fukuoka to save time. Mizuno Ryokan is located in Karatsu (about 1 1/2 hours to 2 hours by train). After getting off train station it takes around 10 minutes to walk there. But of course if you have luggage with you you might want to catch a taxi. (There's a taxi area just outside the train station) Location wise this is quite convenient. There are shops and restaurants in Karatsu area not far from the hotel if you just to hang around in the area. The 2 nights we stayed there have been superb. Staffs are all very professional. Some of them speak simple English and we don't have much problem communicating with one another. Breakfast and dinner are wonderful. Portions might seem small but since there are many courses throughout a meal and by the last you usually already full. They might not be using the most expensive ingredients but they truly are very fresh and they put a lot of heart when preparing the dishes. Room is spacious (we have the deluxe room I believe) and very very clean. Futons are very very comfy, I fell asleep in literally 30 secs everytime I laid down. We have ocean view room, there are not many people on the beach (once a while someone walked past by). Maybe it'll be more crowded during hot seasons. With that we can enjoy a nice relaxing view without worrying that people passing by can see us. They have 2 public indoor onsen baths (notice this is not bathroom). We do have our own private bathroom too inside our room (make sure you know which one you are choosing when selecting a room). If you wish to use them make sure you let them know first. From the room to the food to the staffs Mizuno Ryokan sure is one of the most amazing hotels I've every stayed in. Should I ever be visiting Karatsu again I definitely would come back to stay.

Food was excellent. Service was excellent. If we could rate greater than 10, we would. It’s a beautiful and quiet location. The staff are lovely. We had a relaxing time there.

Nothing at all.