Meitoya So

This was our third time staying at Meitoya So, which means we like this place. The location is good as it is a short walk to Uwanodai and Chuo ski areas, and close to the shops and eatery. We took the dinner and breakfast plan which was good value for money. The staff at the dining room were very very friendly and helpful, especially Melannie, Gokarana and a Japanese lady and young Japanese man whose names we didn't manage to get. The Japanese lady even helped to arrange our yukata nicely before helping us take a group photo. The outdoor onsen of Meitoya was nice but the chance to enjoy other onsens in hotels of the Takamiya group was an added bonus.

It's actually a very nice Onsen Ryokan styled hotel in my opinion. The welcome drinks bar is fully stocked up (no alcoholic beverages my fellow aussies) with beverages. The staff members are helpful (except maybe one or two?) The outdoor Onsen is GREAT!!! Make sure you avoid the after meal rush hours. The food is most definitely beyond expectation!!! Walk to shops and other nearby affiliated onsen as well as chairlifts. Plenty of parking in front.

We thoroughly enjoyed our stay. Having stayed at Zao Onsen thirty years ago when I worked in Japan, I wanted to share the Zao Onsen experience with my husband, and chose this hotel on the basis of the photos and reviews on Booking.com. On arrival, it all seemed very familiar. After experiencing the onsen bath, and the location of our room, I'm quite sure I had chosen the same hotel where I stayed back then! Obviously it has been quite recently refurbished, but there are some parts that don't change so much. We opted to have dinner at the hotel, which was excellent. Due to some confusion about exactly where the Z90 bus for Zao Onsen left Yamagata city,we missed the bus we wanted to take, so arrived around 6.45pm. (According to Google Maps, we could catch the Z90 from a stop about 50 yards from our previous hotel, but the reception staff there insisted we had to go to Yamagata station... so we missed the bus by one minute. After an hour and a half wait for the next one, the first stop after Yamagata station was, yes, you guessed it, 50 yards from our previous hotel!) As dinner is set out with fresh ingredients to be cooked at your table, you can't be later than 7pm. There is a shuttle bus from the hotel to Zao bus termius, but we didn't know about it, so walked to the hotel. Unfortunately, the short cut route we had planned was closed due to road works, so it was a much longer, and steeper, walk. The next morning, we got the shuttle bus to the bus terminus to return to Yamagata city. The onsen is really wonderful. Zao has a very special PH balance to the water. The bath at this onsen is superb.

Well , from the moment we arrived up until our departure, we were spoiled, the staff , the facilities, breakfast, all were sooo good , to be a little precious the traditional style of bedding was a little hard 🙃) Though that was a first world problem, considering all that was offered to us ! We can highly recommend this place A short stroll to all of the village , great onsens The list could go on !!!

Great area with lots of hiking options, so many beautiful onsen to choose from. Definitly reccomend the Lunch Options as they were incredible value and options outside the ryokan where limited during summer season. The staff was friendly and accomodated us despite my broken japanese. They even offer shuttle services to the vus terminal so you dont have to lugg around your luggage. The in hotel onsen was cozy and offered a lot of space, but even if that does not satisfy your onsen needs, the hotel works together with other hotels so you can use their onsen for free as well (walking distance). That together with the public open air onsen which are gorgeous and also only a couple mins walking distance away makes this an incredebly cozy eyperience.