“Lovely traditional ryokan”

This is a lovely traditional ryokan with good size rooms and hot spring baths. It is possible to book a bath for private use. Our room had a view of the garden. The staff were very helpful and friendly. A very good Japansese breakfast was served and we booked dinner there too on one of our nights. Plenty of fresh and varied food. Good location about 15 mins walk from the train station and 5 mins from the bus station. Lovely garden.

“One of the best stays in Japan!”

Everything was perfect. The breakfast was delicious, the rooms were spacious and comfortable (with a great view!), location was fantastic too. The staff went above and beyond to make our stay enjoyable, especially Takeo-san. Thank you for making our first visit to Karatsu so memorable and showing us japanese hospitality!

“Excellent staff, delicious food, and comfortable room”

The staff are highly accommodating and pleasant. The cuisine is delicious, and the accommodation is comfortable.

“Amazing, authentic, and a real privilege to stay there”

Absolutely amazing to experience an authentic Japanese ryokan with incredible traditional breakfast. So pleased I discovered this place. The staff were extremely helpful and made you feel like part of the family. Room was huge and bed was very comfortable. I appreciated being able to make a private booking for the onsen and have it all to myself. If you have a car, definitely visit the Okawachiyama pottery village. Stunning pottery in a very picturesque location. Staying at this ryokan was definitely one of the highlights of my trip to Japan.

The breakfast and onsen were great. Only a short stroll from everything and friendly staff.

“Overall, the stay is wonderful, and we'd love to stay at Wataya again in the future.”

The staff are friendly and helpful. The room is quiet. It is particularly thoughtful to provide a dedicated dining room of dinner for us only so that we could enjoy the dinner without any concern of infectious respiratory diseases. The dishes are delicious.

“A great authentic experience”

Very old world charm. Dinner was fabulous. Rooms were very spacious.

“We really enjoyed our short stay. If we had known we would have planned to stay longer”

Comfortable beds, beautiful room. Lovely staff

“Perfect for solo for romantic or family. Highly recommended.”

Everything was splendid.

Not at all, the price is much expensive than the same level hot spring hotels in Japan

Not at all, the price is much expensive than the same level hot spring hotels in Japan

“Beautiful Ryoken with unique Taisho period deco, great Onsens, great food, great staffs and owner.”

Wataya is a gorgeous building set in a beautiful Japanese courtyard. Short and easy walk from the Karatsu JR station with bus stop outside if you are carrying lots of luggages and don’t want to walk. The shopping mall and supermarket right opposite is great and you can even have a haircut there. The tatami room is spacious and spotlessly clean. My room is facing a japanese garden and I can see the koi carp swimming in the pond, while enjoying a cup of green tea. The Onsens are impeccable so as the interior deco in the room and lobby. Having Onsen in the morning amidst the sunlight is just too much an indulgence. The staffs are super helpful trying to help me to book a restaurant over the phone in Japanese. The breakfast is tasty and filling, food presentation is so beautiful I felt sorry to eat them. I stayed for 2 nights only and I wish I could stay longer next time I come again, hopefully very soon~~~

“a very pleasant stay.”

convenient location. food was very good and substantial. service was good too.

“Amazing traditional ryokan experience”

Being my second Ryokan stay of this type, I'm still learning the standards. I'm very glad Ryokan Wataya allowed me to book the room for 1 person, since many other ryokan only allow bookings for 2+ people. Staff welcomed me upon arrival, taught me some ettiquette and showed me the facilities. There's an outdoor onsen that is swapped between mens and womens use daily. But there's also a second and third onsen as well (switching daily, open later). These onsen baths have certifications on their mineral content if that's your thing. These are in addition to the normal shower/bathtub in your room. I was lucky enough to utilize all three baths during my 1 night stay, with no one else bathing at the same times. There are english instructions on the walls with the proper bathing steps. Water in the onsens are toasty hot and a bit slippery as you'd expect from hotspring water. I stayed in the Japanese-style Standard room, which was picturesque in terms of what I was looking for. Everything lightly smelled like cedar, or perhaps it was the tatami mats. Far larger than I'd need, since it's a 4 person room. There's a mini fridge in the room (with prices) stocked with sake, beer, and some various sodas in-case you need a drink right now. Breakfast was a full japanese style breakfast, which is set out by staff at a prescheduled time chosen by you. I assume there's probably an option to have the meals brought to the room. The price is very good, especially based on the history and feel of the building, level of service provided, and the hotsprings. The staff (and I think the owner?) did very well communicating, even with my barrage of english.

“short stay close to everything”

close to Center on one side and castle on the other. the only things that would have been the cherry on top would be proximity to beach but as it was cold, that didn’t matter. o was able to walk to yakiniku dinner and Karatsu ware shopping plus able to come back and get some groceries. Oh yeah there’s a grocery store right opposite the road. The onsens switch out in the am but they let you rent it for 40 minutes for private use if you have tattoos.

Staff very welcoming and friendly already came outside to great us when we drove into the premises as it was a little bit tricky to find. Nice rooms, larger than usual, two small cosy onsen and a beautiful garden. Great course dinner inside our room and a very good Japanese breakfast including good fresh coffee.