My first night in Yamagata Prefecture was a comfortable experience and a wonderful place to begin my trip in Japan. As I was visiting my friend’s home prefecture, she arranged the accommodations for the trip, and Yutagawa Onsen Tsukasaya Ryokan in Tsuruoka was a relaxing experience to recover from jet lag. It was the quietest stay I’ve had at a hotel.
The ryokan is located in Yutagawa, a small neighborhood outside the city, that’s not easy to reach without a car, though there are some buses from Tsuruoka Station. This was important as I arrived in Tokyo the previous evening and took the 6 am train to get to Tsuruoka. The day was full of leisurely tourism — a little sightseeing in nearby Sakata as well as a bit of Tsuruoka, plus a short hike.
Yutagawa Onsen Tsukasaya Ryokan doesn’t look like much from the outside, but it is a welcoming bit of comfort. Somehow I ended up with added luxury in my room, which was more expensive than others (fortunately, the yen was weak enough to make it more reasonable). I wasn’t sure what to expect as I was only told it was a small, family-owned hotel that my friend liked.
After a day spent on trains since 6 am, followed by some light hiking and sightseeing in Tsuruoka and Sakata, I would’ve been happy sleeping on a rock. But I got a much better experience than that.
We took turns using the baths on the ground floor — there were two rooms, one for families and the other for singles or possibly couples (though it would be cramped for two people). It was a great moment of quiet relaxation to soak in the hot spring tub after washing away the day’s travels. I almost fell asleep while enjoying the comfort.
I could have donned a ryokan-provided yukata, but I just changed into clean clothes for dinner (I should’ve worn the yukata because it would’ve been more comfortable). Dinner made up for the lack of Japanese ryokan attire. I mean, I knew this would be good food based on my friend’s stories, but I was still unprepared.
Everything was locally sourced at Yutagawa Onsen Tsukasaya Ryokan and included with the room. Dinner had some sashimi, a fried fish, three small vegetable dishes, and a gelatinous tofu dish (the only thing I didn’t like). For a little extra yen, I had a tasting of six local sakes, which was probably a stupid idea — overall, I didn’t eat a lot that day before downing six glasses of sake.
I tried to relieve the sake drunkenness with some complimentary herbal tea. There was a wonderful variety of teas set out throughout the day. I had no idea what they were aside from some sort of flowers. But, I figured herbal tea would rehydrate me and help with a bit of jet lag.
Because of the onsen, the room on the second floor was rather warm in the cool, rainy autumn. I opened the window while I slept on the futon mattress spread out of the tatami. With the rain, Yutagawa was silent in the evening — my ears were ringing all night long. And I didn’t sleep past 6 am.
It was still hours before breakfast, and my friends were still sleeping. I took a brief walk around the neighborhood in the rain with a large borrowed umbrella. There wasn’t much to see in the area — it was peaceful with a pond and park that would have been pleasant had it not been pouring rain. I opted to try the public onsen next to the ryokan.
Yutagawa Onsen Tsukasaya Ryokan has a key to the public onsen for times when it’s supposed to be closed, such as before 8 am. Staff handed me a basket with a towel, soap, and shampoo as the onsen did not provide anything (I also took the ryokan’s wooden sandals instead of wearing my shoes to walk next door. This trip to Tsuruoka was my first onsen since I stayed in suburban Tokyo in 2013, but unlike that neighborhood onsen, this one was not outdoors. It was one large pool. As it was fully enclosed, it felt like a mild sauna, which was relaxing.
Back at the ryokan with clean clothes and my suitcase repacked, I joined my friends for breakfast, which was more impressive than dinner. There was some fish, eggs, fruit, soybeans, soup, and a mixture of vegetables. It was a pleasant and healthy start to the day. It was really only missing a large serving of coffee, which we got later on the way to Mt. Haguro while waiting for the rain to dissipate.
While staying at Yutagawa Onsen Tsukasaya Ryokan is an amazing, relaxing time in Japan, I would not recommend staying there without transportation reserved. There isn’t anything to walk to in this part of Tsuruoka. But with that transportation, it is a beautiful way to enjoy a journey through Yamagata Prefecture and its natural beauty.
