Ryokan Tamahan

Very very nice Ryokan. My group of 5 wanted to spend one night in a Ryokan just for the experience, and we found Tamahan to be a nice combination of reasonable price and amenities.
Booking was very easy via email — I made the reservation some 10 months in advance, but it was no problem. I corresponded with Inaba-​san, who spoke very good English. We were given a room for two people and a room for three people, all of them spacious. On the day of our arrival, the hotel gladly stored bags for us prior to our arrival, and delivered them to our rooms for us ahead of our check in.
We think we may have come in through a back door… through a small archway with a cloth covering and in to a small but beautiful garden, in our case mostly covered with falling cherry petals… which kind of added to the experience. The inn seems to span a couple buildings — there are only 10 rooms, but all are spacious (and all have names!) and split across a couple different buildings. We heard very little of other guests… but there were some loud mewling cats during the night.
The room itself is very nice — ours was 8 tatami mats in size with a very large closet, small sitting area for two with a view of basically a private garden, and a spacious bathroom with western toilet, western shower, and Japanese wooden bathtub. The floors were heated too, nice touch. The room has both heat and A/​C, so you don’t need to worry about an older building being stifling or drafty or cold, just adjust to your liking. Rooms did include yukata and tanzen, although I did not indulge.
We were brought tea and cookies and relaxed until a lovely Kaiseki dinner, served in a common room for all five of us. I don’t pretend to understand all the intricacies of Kaiseki, but the meal was many many courses, including sashimi, broiled and poached fish, tofu, egg, vegetables, tempura, and many other small tidbits. A very nice way to sample a large variety of things. The only complaint I might have is that I think it was served rather quickly? Our table was quickly overloaded with items, and some (like the tempura and rice) were not completely hot. But honestly minor complaints.
After dinner, while we were drinking our tea and finishing up, the low table on which our afternoon tea was served was moved aside and futons prepared, which were surprisingly comfortable. I’m a hard mattress guy, and I could sleep on these every night. If you’re a big fluffy pillow top person though, this might be a bit of a shock for you.
For breakfast we had the option of a western or Japanese breakfast. Again served in a common room for the five of us, the western was underwhelming… grapefruit, toast (with yuzu marmalade), and soft boiled eggs, while the Japanese was rice, miso, soft boiled egg (in adorable little skillets) and super delicious sukiyaki beef, mushrooms, and clear noodles. Get the Japanese breakfast. The coffee with the western was very good though.
The price is not cheap, or at least, more than a hotel. Ryokan charge by the person, not by the room, but it does include two nice meals, good service, and lovely surroundings. There were far more expensive and far less expensive options, but I think this one was a good middle ground — the weak Japanese Yen during our visit didn’t hurt either. Based on this one Ryokan experience, I would not hesitate to recommend this to anyone else or to return on a future visit.