Gyokuto Vacations from ￥35,060

Confidently one of the best ryokan in Kyushu! I have stayed in many decent ryokans in Japan, but Kyutei managed to exceed expectations in all aspects. Highlights are

Fabulous high class European style food, friendly knowledgeable staff and wonderful observatory and star gazing experience set in a peaceful location with lovely maisonette style chalets.

Everything is clean. The view from the balcony is great. The private sauna ia a unique facility.

Clean and spacious traditional style room. Toilet was somehow a bit too small though, not particularly comfortable to use. Basin (for hand washing after using toilet) was then on the other side of the room which was a bit inconvenient. Hot spring facilities were at a different building (much newer and modern) which were 2 mins walk away. That was a slight problem when it was raining heavily when we were there. Parking was not great for our bigger car (RAV4 size type SUV). Tight space and lot of guests made parking very difficult. During golden week, when we stayed there, dining options at night were very limited in nearby regions.