Yamagata the Takinami

We stayed for three nights, and it was a fantastic experience. The hotel owner and staffs were exceptionally friendly and took great care of us. The hot spring was incredible—while soaking in the warm water, all you could think was, this is life. Highly recommend!

This is my second time at Yamagata the Takinami, and it is the best place I have stayed at. The staff here are amazing and do everything possible to make sure you have an excellent time. It's a very special place. Dinner and breakfast is included and the food is top tier restaurant quality. The chefs previously worked at Michelin starred restaurants, and they use the best seasonal produce from local farmers. Every room has a private onsen bath, which makes this stay extra luxurious! The rooms are just as perfect as you can see in the images here. If you want an extended look, check out Abroad in Japan's YouTube channel, and look for the video "What Owning a Traditional Japanese Inn is Like" for a behind the scenes look at this ryokan. Everything is very accommodating to English speakers. The staff reached out to me via email ahead of my stay to make sure everything was perfect, and all the staff here carefully explained everything to me in English. I booked a massage during my stay, and it was excellent! The Takinami is also very easy to get to with public transport. There is a Shinkansen from Tokyo which arrives at the nearby station (only 5 mins away), and the lovely staff will pick you up directly from the station. Everyone at Yamagata the Takinami went above and beyond to ensure I had a wonderful stay. Looking forward to coming back soon!

If you are only able to have one luxury experience in life, make it a stay at the Takinami Ryokan, for as many nights as you can. It is easily accessible by train from Tokyo or Sendai, and this provides many opportunities to explore the local area. I can’t give more than five stars for the service, and the staff deserves it. Visiting from outside Japan, we were very glad that all of the staff was happy to interact with us. Even before we arrived, the staff reached out to us to confirm details and to ensure our stay would be spectacular. A shuttle was provided to pick us up at the station, and our shuttle driver was the President’s brother, who told us about the town and history of the area and the ryokan. We instantly felt welcome! We were warmly greeted upon arrival and provided several options for a welcome drink and a snack as we reviewed our check-in details and selected the times for our activities during our stay. We were then given a tour of the facility as we were shown to our rooms. The room was clean and as beautiful as the pictures from the website. We had a private onsen for the room, which was incredibly convenient and enjoyable. There is a public onsen available for guests as well. The beds were very comfortable and the facility has been beautifully renovated while maintaining its historical beauty and charm. Lounge clothes of two different styles (several designs/colors for each) were provided for use throughout our stay. The food was phenomenal, and I ate every bite. I cannot say enough about our dining experiences for dinner and breakfast (both included), so I will just say it was some of the best food I’ve had in my life, and the counter dining experience was beyond amazing. I have been looking for a “chef’s table” type experience and this exceeded my expectations. I did not expect to be provided so many opportunities for experience during our stay, but they provided many. We got to see the soba noodles (very special flour) made for us before we were served them for dinner. We were provided a site seeing tour the following morning (spoken in Japanese) on their beautiful bus, with a stop atop the mountain for some coffee and juice in the clouds. While I don’t speak Japanese (my wife is my translator) the experience was one I will cherish for the rest of my life, and the joy and passion with which the stories were shared makes me wish I did understand Japanese (time was taken to ensure important details were provided in English, and I’d never have expected everything to be repeated for me). President Minami-san took a lot of time throughout our stay to speak with us and the other guests, so we felt very cared for. If you’re looking for an amazing time in Japan, look no further. We will be back on our next trip and for a longer stay, and while we have a lot more time in Japan now, our next visit can’t come soon enough. To everyone at Takinami Ryokan, thank you so much for this magical experience!

My first TripAdvisor review, TAKINAMI is worth extra appreciation. Grateful to experience this special Ryokan, with family history and wonderful facilities! Wonderful traditional breakfasts and mind blowing Michelin Star level dinners. Onsens in every room is good for anyone. 2:20 minute Shinkansen (bullet train) from Tokyo. All staff are lovely and very nice. I highly recommend this next level experience! Thank you again! XOXO

I have been stayed in Takinami twice. The room, onsen, food and service are excellent. The owner and staff of the hotel are very nice and you can experience modern and traditional Japanese service in Takinami. I highly recommend Takinami to all fans of Japan.👍🏻

This is the most relaxing ryokan experience with comfort and connect with chef team through amazing dishes and the service team with passion promoting Yamahas culture and home grown vegetables and rice. You can taste a moment of silence here and enjoy the dinner and tour around. The team also sensitive to your needs and provide support and alternatives to suit your body health and special need. The staff here are nice, friendly and talk to you about their life and make the guests feel relaxed and restful. Takinami is the first place of Relux of the year 2022 for small hotel category and it is worth visiting the people, onsen and food!!!!