Daikichi

My partner and I stayed here 28/12/2023 and absolutely adored it. The staff were wonderful - very friendly and helpful service, thank you! Rooms are perfectly sized with a beautiful view of the mountains, shared bath was very relaxing. Dinner and breakfast were delicious. My partner and I are from Australia so the food was very different from what we're used to and not something we would try so I'm very grateful for the authentic Japanese dinner as an opportunity to try something new which I loved - very delicious and good quality food! The surrounding area was beautiful and we had a wonderful day exploring Tsumago-juku and walking to Nagiso on our way out.

Thank you to everyone at Daikichi for the wonderful experience, we are very grateful!

It was the most amazing stay i had during my whole time in Japan. A lovely small in with very neat rooms and a nice onsen. It is situated at the edge of the beautifull town of tsumago in one of the traditional buildings. During my stay the staff was so nice and helpfull. In addition the food they served was amazing and could well be served in a high end restaurant. If you go to this region i would highly reccomend staying here.

I challenge you to find a Ryokan or Minshuku that offers service and smiles better than Daikichi. Even though we arrived several hours too early to check-in, Samae and Kazuki allowed us to drop of our daypacks and enjoy a brief sit down before we went off to explore Tsumago. Later, when it started to rain, Samae (forgive the terrible spelling) walked into the restaurant where we were sipping beers to stay dry with umbrellas under her arm for us! Imagine that? She walked through town looking for us with umbrellas so that we wouldn't get wet. I have been on the receiving end of good service before, but this was the beginning of an amazing experience.
After ambling about under our freshly delivered umbrellas, we returned to properly be received. The smiles on arrival were bigger than before. After removing our shoes and slipping on the house slippers we were, in fairly good English, shown the various parts of the minshuku. The guest area is down a steep set of stairs which needed careful navigation with a backpack on. To the left of the stairs were the toilets and to the right rooms with locked doors. I love sleeping on tatami mats, so it was exciting to open the door to a large square room with clean mats on the floor, a small fridge, a kettle and hot water and sliding paper doors on the windows. Yukata were neatly folded in the wardrobe, which was quite small.
Afterwards the rules about the shower and bath (a hot, Japanese bath filled with water that constantly overflowed to ensure the water was perpetually clean): shower and wash thoroughly first, then soak in the tub for as long as necessary second. The entire cedar lined room was spacious and neat with a bucket on the floor for splashing water over yourself.
On return to the room, we slid back the window doors to reveal the most magnificent sight of mountains and fields and farm houses. Those windows should never be shut. It was a picture perfect view that absolutely captivated me. Sitting on the mats in my yukata staring out of the window was my own contemplative heaven. The mountainside is covered in a variety of different trees of subtly differing shades of green that delicately change colour as the wind blows creating the most gently kaleidoscope imaginable. As glorious as it was at sunset, the next morning the view absolutely blew me away.
Dinner was called and the doors to the various rooms opened and out proceeded four couples in matching yukata and slippers to ascend the stairs for our traditional meal. Eating at traditional Japanese venues always induces a gasp. While sitting on a thin cushion on the tatami mats, you are presented with a multitude of small plates and bowls boasting various local specialities all arrayed in a visually pleasing display. Apart from salmon, salad, fruit, potato salad, miso soup and pickles, the meal also included some local delicacies like candied grasshoppers (very sweet and soft) and horse sashimi (incredible! The thin, bright red slices of meat almost melt in the mouth). A large glass of optional nihonshu (sake to the rest of the world) was filled almost to the top. Sitting on the floor, in close proximity to your neighbours meant that very soon everyone in the room was sharing tales. Like us, everyone was walking the Nakasendo.
After dinner it was bedtime, which I was looking forward to after walking for so much during the day, and because sleeping on tatami is such a novelty. With windows open to the mountains, I awoke to the sounds of eagles screaming on the wind as steam gently drifted between the tree tops. This amazing sight wrapped up a most wonderful experience. Breakfast was another culinary experience, but the sight of the mountains, mist, fields and farm houses and the sounds of eagles, crickets and birds were the most fabulous memories of that morning.
Finally, as we walked away from Daikichi, I turned for one last look and there, at the door, still waving were Samae and Kazuki waving and smiling. This was the most welcoming stay I've had in any hotel or guesthouse.

Warm welcoming, lovely food and great & cozy atmosphere. We absolutely loved our stay here.

I can only recommend Daikichi for any future hosts.

Cute ryokan with a really nice hostess. It really gives you the experience of a traditional inn. The two women I met there are really nice, welcoming and interested in you.
The rooms are small with thin walls, but we expected that - albeit a bit cold in the night and hard pillows. The bath is really great with two seating areas and a tub filled with very hot water.
The food - dinner and breakfast) - was really tasty and an experience.
Overall, me and my traveling companions were really happy to have stayed at the ryokan for a night. I can definitely recommend this place - just bring earplugs if you are a light sleeper and there are loud guests.

Stayed in Daikichi back in November 2019 when i travelled to Japan with my 4 yrs old son. The ambience is rustic, food was served for dinner and breakfast, also with special cuisine from the area such as fried cricket and horse meat sashimi. Futon was so comfortable, hot water bath is so relaxing after a long trip from Kyoto. Definitely a recommended minshuku!

Wonderful little traditional lodging house, preserved in its original style and function the way it was 100s of years ago. Tatami mats, wood and paper sliding doors everywhere, sleeping and sitting on the floor, it all feels super authentic. The decor is simple and charming and the hosts are lovely. Also the bedroom view was gorgeous.

The hostess made us the most amazing dinner and breakfast - my omnivore partner had 10-12 different little plates and they were all matched by an equivalent vegetarian or vegan plate for me (apart from some fried grasshoppers which was probably a cultural misunderstanding as to what constitutes meat or fish 😂) I was really impressed and touched that she went to so much effort as it can be very hard to find vegetarian food in Japan.

It’s relatively basic in that the bathrooms and loos are shared but that’s standard in this historical village, where people decided to preserve their lodgings exactly as they always were, since the 1970s.

We visited in mid-January after walking Magome to Tsumago on the Nakasendo trail and it was below freezing outside. The hostel was a little chilly - I wouldn’t describe it as ‘cosy’ so careful if you really can’t deal with not being warm - but the hot bath was very welcome and there’s an extra blanket for the bed.

Highly recommended ryokan to spend 1-2 nights in Tsumago-juku before proceeding to the next town along the historic Nakasendo trail. The booking was done very easily if you go to the main website (which, I have to admit, looks like it was designed in the early days of the Internet). The owner inherited this inn from her parents with a mission to look after travellers. Dinner is served at 6pm and breakfast at 7:30am. A lot of local products including horse meat (tastes like sashimi), seasoned grasshopper, wild mushrooms etc. The bedroom fits two people and nothing fancy. At night before you go to sleep, you are reminded to turn off the AC and open the windows. It is summer here in Japan but the cool breeze at night is very pleasant. You should also take a stroll around town after dinner as the local inns and shops light up their lanterns. The whole scene is very magical.

Amazing hospitality. Breakfast is usually at 0730, but as I am doing the nakasendo hike, they offered to do breakfast at 0700 instead. Amazing and authentic experience. Futon was very comfortable as well. The entire place is impeccably clean.

This was my first night doing the Nakasendo Hike. The ryokan was impeccably clean. The daughter, working with her mother-in-law, was so helpful in forwarding our lugggage.

Most of all the food for dinner and breakfast kaiseki style was beyond delicious. I loved this simple, 7-bedroom ryokan.

It might be a place for foreigners to stay as many mention, but still it’s super amazing!
The building is very old and beautifully maintained. The hosts are very sweet and super helpful. We loved the room - small but have everything you need. Staying in this tatami room for a night made us unplug and just enjoy the beauty of the nature (when looking outside) even more.
The hot bath is amazing.

This was my first Ryokan and it wasn’t till after I’d been to a few others that i realised that this was the best. Warm friendly staff, just enough English to communicate and excellent food. I thoroughly enjoyed my stay and the staff waved me off as I left not after taking my photo outside.

Great views, amazing food, lovely hosts, very clean! I especially loved their home made miso, I would've bought a tub if I could have. The same holds for their tofu. Only the pillow was a bit too hard for me, but that's a personal preference.

This is a really nice traditional Japanese In. It’s really well located .. just a few minutes walk to the main attraction in Tsumago. The hosts are super friendly and do speak English. The room are neat with Futons!! a true experience. The lodging includes Dinner and Breakfast and the meals are delicious ! reserve in advance is my advice as only few rooms !!

Kazuko and i haven’t seen each other in 3 years since I stayed and inspected her minshuku (Japanese inn), but she greeted us as no time has passed (plus we’re FB friends). The rooms are quaint, cozy and you’ll make the beds yourself. The bath can hold 2 people and is drawn at 5pm. The dinner and breakfast are both held in the upstairs tatami room with a great view of the mountains. She really is the best!

Amazing place, i did the walking trail from magome-juku to tsumago-juku and stopped by for overnight sleep at this place.
Amazing food and Amazing host. Would definitely visit again. Highly recommended.

Our favourite place after 4 weeks in Japan. Traditional inn with a great welcome and absolutely fabulous food. All topped by a lovely concert of traditional music in the beautiful little town of Tsumago. Highly, highly recommended.

Excellent. Very traditional Japanese in all respects. Lovely hosts speak decent English. Never left a review before(!) But defo worth 5/5

Just looking back at my (sparse) set of reviews. This hotel/restaurant was epic. Probably the highlight of our trip.

Great experience staying at Daikichi for one night. Great set dinner and breakfast. Owners are friendly and accommodating. Located on the Main Street in Tsumago

We absolutely loved our stay in this ryokan. We'd already stayed in a few other ryokans during our time in Japan and this was at the top of the list. The owners were so friendly, served excellent food, and accommodated our every needs. The location is right on the edge of the village and all rooms had views over the surrounding fields and hills which gave it a secluded feel while still being in the village. They had a private hot spring bath which was a nice change (for us westerners) from having to bathe publicly. I highly recommend staying here if you find yourself walking the Nakasendo trail and/or travelling in the Kiso Valley. Only a few minutes walk from the bus station.