Our stay this time was at Matsuya Senzen in Awara Onsen, the hot spring town in Fukui Prefecture. The parking lot is enormous, so parking was entirely stress-free. As we pulled up, two members of staff hurried over, took our luggage with a smile and told us, “Please park wherever is closest.”
A lobby built for hundreds
The entrance is step-free, and the lobby that opens up beyond it looks as if it could seat several hundred people. Having carried our bags in, the staff started on our check-in straight away. The official check-in time is 3pm, but they took us through the explanations and our requests early, then invited us to relax in the free-drinks corner until the room was ready. Impressed by such an efficient welcome, we helped ourselves to a cocoa.
The lounge is laid out with tables where you can linger, among some impressive plants, which on closer inspection turned out, to our surprise, to be artificial. They were so well maintained and so neatly shaped that we had not suspected a thing until we were right next to them. We can understand how hard it would be to keep fresh plants in a building this size, and kept this clean, the effect is perfectly pleasant.
The room, and a switch flicked for us
A member of staff carried our bags to the room, which was clean and comfortably air-conditioned. He chatted in a pleasant, easy tone, and as soon as we walked in he switched on the fridge, explaining that it takes about ten minutes to get going. It was a small gesture, but it gave us a real sense of being looked after. Between the efficient explanations and the smiles, check-in could hardly have been more comfortable.
Spotless, without anyone seen cleaning
The public areas were free of dust, too. In a ryokan this large we almost never saw anyone cleaning, yet everything was tidy. Every member of staff we passed bowed with a smile and a word of some kind. We were also shown the corner where guests can make their own onsen tamago, eggs soft-cooked in the hot spring water, complete with a pot for the shells and even salt.
Fukui is famous for its sake, and the bottles displayed on the wall gleamed. Some Fukui sake is now so rare that it is practically impossible to buy.
The lifts carry clear floor guides in large lettering. Ryokan across the Awara Onsen area seem to be designed this way, and we took it as consideration for older guests and children.
The baths
The size of the changing room at the main baths took us by surprise: a brightly lit space with a generous number of baskets and chairs. It is designed, and big enough, for a crowd not to feel crowded. We were told the ryokan can accommodate around 600 guests, and that was easy to believe here.
There is also a shampoo bar, a feature found at ryokan throughout Awara Onsen. Women naturally love them, and we hear that children and men are increasingly enjoying them too. If we had one criticism, it is that the products on offer are on the inexpensive side. Nobody needs ultra-luxury brands, but it would be nice to find something containing hot spring minerals, or products you would not use every day.
Dinner out on Yukemuri Yokocho
For dinner we walked about eight minutes from the ryokan to Yukemuri Yokocho, a lane of small, stall-style eateries that is usually busy with sightseers and hot spring guests. As it was a weekday, there were few people about. We went into Dosukoi Sushi, near the entrance, and enjoyed a full round of sushi. The young chef let us in on a little secret: while the fish comes from Tsukiji, he also buys fish that has gone at auction in Kanazawa at very good prices. We spent the evening over sushi and easy conversation, hearing about how things are in Awara these days.
An evening soak
Back at the ryokan we headed for the baths again. The women’s bath has many different kinds of tub, and it was hard not to want to try them one after another: a large indoor bath, a ceramic tub for one, a bath for lying down in, and even a sauna. At night the baths had a retro atmosphere and made for a soothing end to the day.
The open-air bath in daytime, in photographs from the ryokan’s official website:
Final thoughts
Awara is a fiercely competitive hot spring town, and each ryokan tries to set itself apart. Matsuya Senzen’s strengths are its huge building and long history, its generous use of space, and a tremendous volume of hot spring water. We did not take a dinner plan this time, but we now have high hopes for it. Above all, it is the staff’s attentiveness and hospitality that shine. We have visited Awara Onsen many times to look around, and we were genuinely moved by the way the people here looked out for guests and by the gentleness of their words.
When we checked out and got into the car, an older gentleman was standing at the entrance. We assumed he was there to see us off politely, but then he took out a handkerchief and kept waving it, smiling all the while. It was an old-fashioned custom deliberately revived for the present day, and we found it utterly charming.
This review reflects a visit in September 2025. Facilities and plans may change; please confirm current details directly with the ryokan before visiting.
