Yamatoya Honten

The hot spring is very good, better than the traditional one nearby. Only two elevators, for dining period, needs to wait for longer times.

Location. Two minutes walk from the original Dogo Onsen. Close to all the shopping and attractions at Dogo Onsen. I think it was about 5 minutes walk from the Dogo Onsen train/bus station. We also liked the Noh stage, where we freely took a lot of pictures. Free OJ in the afternoon. Oh it's so much fun to pour OJ from a faucet. Breakfast. Buffet style. Quality was average, it is not bad but not great either.

Exceptional

Very near Dogo Onsen, hotel in traditional style with great own onsen bath. Splendid rooms, good service, dinner is overated.

The location close to Dogo Onsen area is very convenient. Loved the Mikan juice tab in the lobby! The hotel's baths with all the big rocks were nice and relaxing. The free sake tasting after the baths is a nice touch. Though the breakfast selection was nice and unique, the atmosphere in the big hall did not quite match the price range.

Superb

A very Japanese focused onsen hotel in the heart of the tourist area. As usual with local Japanese hotels, if you want to eat any meals there, do so on your initial reservation. I did, and was fine, but frustrating that you can’t add after the fact. The hotel was very clean, the staff were friendly(Enough English spoken so no problems) the meals were very good, and I thoroughly enjoyed my Japanese style room. I would happily stay here again in the future

So convenient and comfortable Spacious rooms Friendly staff

Great location. Friendly staff. Comfortable room. Relaxing onsen

Extremely kind and helpful staff. Excellent breakfast buffet, with a great choice of fresh fish, local mandarine juices and other speciality products. Best breakfast buffet I had during my trip ( in similar hotels). Very spacious room (japanese style). Good location, walking distance to Onsen and tram. Maybe a bit old-fashioned on some ways and a bit on the expensive side, but definitely worth it. A pity you couldn't book with dinner

Good location. Have to bring towel from room to onsen area.

Very good

Located in the Dogo Onsen area which is convenient and easy to get around. The breakfast could have been better.

Japanese style Room, The public bath, Central location, Staff, Food

Great location, lots of old time atmosphere. I would highly recommend for,the price, which is kept reasonable partly because although the frontage is a historic ryokan, it's actually a large hotel . The superb Japanese breakfast buffet is in a characterless large hall at tables with vinyl tableclothes. Redemption comes if you know to book in advance one of the several smaller dinner restaurants on site. And there are plenty of non-hotel dining options in the neighborhood. There is a fine line between period ambience and needing a refresh, and the public areas around the entrance are on the verge of crossing it. It was a great choice as a single traveler, as they have small western rooms available at very good prices!

Exceptional

Exceptional

This was the third time I have stayed in Yamatoya Honten, and if I go back to Dogo Onsen I will stay there again. It is an elegant hotel with beautiful traditional Japanese rooms, an excellent onsen and a Noh theatre stage. Staying in an onsen town, you could walk around town wearing your hotel yukata. Dinner was excellent, and there was an extensive range of breakfast dishes to choose from, including ice cream. The children enjoyed the robot carrying the trays. During my stay there was an earthquake measuring 6.6 on the Richter scale, it woke me from sleep. A loud-speaker announced the earthquake in English and Japanese. The emergency doors closed, preventing access to the lifts, and re-opened when all was clear. The hotel was not damaged. I was immensely reassured by the hotel's ability to withstand earthquakes. Nothing about the hotel, though I would have preferred not to experience the earthquake!

Breakfast was bit poor, but ok.

The public spaces in this hotel are beautiful, if a bit dated. My room was arranged in a very comfortable, efficient way. There was a closet, a rarity for Japanese hotels in this price range. The onsen was lovely. I did not eat any meals there, but there are many nice restaurants in the neighborhood, and I had no trouble finding good dinners. It is only a five minute walk from the streetcar which connects you to the rest of Matsuyama. Finding this place was a challenge, because the sign outside is only in Japanese. My room had a small window that faced a wall; it was almost impossible to see the sky. The staff speak very little English. Be aware that the train station is a 25 minute streetcar ride away.