Overview
Stay at Ryokan Murayama at the foot of Mount Matsukura in Hida Takayama. The ryokan stands west of the city centre, close to Hida Folk Village and the former site of Matsukura Castle, with the peaks of the Northern Japanese Alps visible in the distance when the weather is clear.
The building has the character of a traditional Japanese folk house, with heavy wooden beams, pillars, tatami rooms, and a fireplace lit with wood in the evening. The setting feels removed from the busier streets of central Takayama, while the old town, Takayama Jinya, morning markets, and local restaurants remain a short drive away.
Your stay centres on Japanese-style accommodation, natural hot spring bathing, and handmade Hida cuisine. The owner prepares the meals, including Hida beef, charcoal-grilled river fish, local rice, and seasonal mountain ingredients.
Accommodation
The room selection centres on traditional Japanese rooms in the Main Building and Annex. Room sizes range from eight to 16 tatami mats, giving you options for a shorter stay, a couple’s trip, or a visit with family and friends.
The 16-tatami Annex Room is the largest option. Its high ceiling and long floor plan create an open space where you can sit together during the day before futons are prepared on the tatami in the evening.
The ten-tatami Annex Room features prominent wooden beams and pillars that reflect the folk-house character of the property. The eight-tatami Annex Room offers a more compact layout with the same tatami flooring, low furniture, and traditional details.
The Main Building also has ten-tatami Japanese rooms with exposed timber and futon bedding. Selected rooms preserve structural elements from relocated gassho-style architecture, including thick beams and wooden columns.
Bathroom arrangements depend on your room category. Selected rooms include a private bath and toilet, while assigned Japanese-room categories may use shared bathing facilities. Every room is non-smoking and includes Wi-Fi.
Standard room items include heating and air conditioning, a television, refrigerator, safe, tea-making facilities, towels, bath towels, a toothbrush, yukata, and a hairdryer. Razors, shower caps, hairbrushes, and additional bathing products are available in the public bathing areas.
Dining
Dinner introduces you to the food of Hida through a seasonal Japanese meal prepared by the owner. Hida beef, freshwater fish, mountain vegetables, local rice, and regional dishes appear according to the season and your selected dining plan.
One of the main highlights is iwana river fish cooked slowly over charcoal at the long hearth in the dining area. The skin becomes crisp while the meat remains soft inside. Homemade gohei mochi, coated with a sweet and savoury sauce before grilling, may also appear as part of the regional meal.
Hida beef can be prepared as seiro-steamed beef or sukiyaki. Selected plans also feature Hida beef sirloin or fillet steak. Other possible dishes include seasonal appetisers, simmered vegetables, mountain-vegetable tempura, matsutake mushroom soup, Hida beef stew, chilled tororo soba, sashimi, and dessert.
You may also taste kawafugu, a local name used for fresh catfish sashimi. Its light flavour and firm texture provide a contrast to the richer Hida beef dishes.
Meals are served in either a tatami dining room or a semi-private dining space, depending on your plan. Selected arrangements include private dining, allowing you to enjoy dinner away from the main room.
Breakfast is a Japanese set centred on homemade hoba miso, a Takayama speciality served on a magnolia leaf. It is accompanied by Hida-grown Koshihikari rice, miso soup, pickles, grilled fish, rolled egg, simmered vegetables, greens, local delicacies, and yogurt.
A children’s plate can be prepared when arranged before your stay.
Grill Dining Yahichi stands beside the ryokan and provides another dining option. Smokeless tabletop grills allow you to cook Hida beef, other meats, seafood, and vegetables with less smoke around the table.
Yahichi serves lunch and dinner and includes an all-weather barbecue area. The restaurant normally closes on Wednesdays. When outdoor conditions are unsuitable, your barbecue may be moved inside.
Onsen and Wellness
Ryokan Murayama uses natural water from Matsukura Yunoyama Onsen. The spring is classified as a simple, weakly alkaline, hypotonic low-temperature spring with a pH of 8.2.
The water has a soft, slightly smooth texture and is often described as a skin-smoothing spring. Its low level of irritation makes it comfortable for a slow soak after sightseeing or travelling.
Traditional bathing indications include fatigue, sensitivity to cold, muscle and joint discomfort, stiff shoulders, bruises, sprains, long-term digestive concerns, and recovery after illness.
The men’s and women’s public baths were renovated in December 2018. Both are indoor bathing areas with updated shower booths and Japanese-style interiors. The property does not have shared outdoor baths.
Two smaller private indoor hot spring baths, Take and Matsu, allow you to bathe with your partner, family, or travelling companions. Use of these baths is included during an overnight stay and does not require an additional bathing charge.
The natural spring water is used with circulation and filtration rather than as an uninterrupted source-flowing bath. The public and private bathing facilities are normally available from 06:00 to 22:30.
Guests with Tattoos
When you have tattoos, use one of the two private hot spring baths, Take or Matsu. These baths allow you to enjoy the natural spring water without entering the shared men’s or women’s bathing areas.
The communal public baths do not accommodate tattoos. The private baths are complimentary and are used according to availability during bathing hours.
Facilities
The public lounge reflects the wooden character of the ryokan, with exposed beams, comfortable seating, and a wood-burning fireplace. The fire is lit around dusk, creating a warm place to sit before dinner or after returning from the baths.
Two dining areas provide tatami and semi-private seating for breakfast and dinner. Grill Dining Yahichi stands beside the main property and adds smokeless tabletop grilling and an all-weather barbecue space.
The bathing facilities include separate indoor hot spring baths for men and women, two complimentary private hot spring baths, changing areas, shower booths, and bathing amenities. Shampoo, conditioner, body soap, hand soap, cleansing products, razors, hairbrushes, and shower caps are provided in or near the bathing areas.
Free Wi-Fi is available in the accommodation rooms, and the entire property is non-smoking. Free outdoor parking is provided, including space for standard cars and a larger vehicle.
A complimentary transfer from Takayama Station is available by telephone request until 17:30. The journey from the station takes approximately five minutes by car.
Activities
Hida Folk Village is around ten minutes away on foot. This open-air museum preserves traditional farmhouses, including gassho-style buildings, together with tools, household items, and displays that introduce daily life in the Hida region.
The Hida Takayama Crafts Experience Center is around five minutes away on foot. You can try local craft activities without travelling into the city centre, with experiences changing according to the operating schedule.
The Hida Takayama Teddy Bear Eco Village is approximately one minute away on foot. The museum occupies a restored traditional house and combines teddy-bear displays with themes related to nature and the environment.
Takayama’s old town and Takayama Jinya are around ten minutes away by car. You can walk through streets lined with wooden merchant houses, visit sake breweries, browse small shops, and explore the morning markets.
The slopes and woodland around Mount Matsukura provide a quieter contrast to the city centre. Seasonal scenery ranges from spring greenery and summer forest views to autumn leaves and winter snow.
During winter, Hida Funayama Snow Resort Arkopia is around 35 minutes away by car. The wider Takayama region also gives you access to Shirakawa-go, mountain roads, caves, and countryside attractions for longer day trips.
Additional Features
Check-in begins at 15:00, and check-out is by 10:00. Later arrival times may be available with accommodation-only or breakfast plans, while dinner arrangements require an earlier arrival.
Free parking and the station transfer make the location practical when you do not want to stay in the centre of Takayama. The ryokan is approximately five minutes from Takayama Station by taxi, while Hida Folk Village and nearby cultural attractions are within walking distance.
