Stayed in Koroukan (鴻朧館) – an annex hotel of Gekkoen (月光園) in Arima onsen for the second time (3rd time for my wife).  Having stayed in plenty of traditional ryokans, we prefer to stay in modern onsen hotels/ryokans from time to time.

Picked a Semi-suite room of 31 sqm with dinner serving Kuroge-wagyu. Turned out it was a right call.  Apart from being spacious and on high floor, peak koyo was right outside the window. 

Before dinner, we soaked in public onsen (as usual) in both ryokans. Views from the rotenburo in Koroukan was nice, though it was less gorgeous (on lower floor) than from our suite. On the other hand, the rotenburo in the main ryokan was on the other side of the valley, accessible by a short bridge.  This is akin to Kurokawa onsen in Kyushu.

Kaiseki dinner with meticulous service

After breakfast, we strolled around both ryokans and the onsen town again before checking out. Took express bus to Kyoto station direct in 1+ hour.

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