Hotel New Wakasa

We booked the room with the private garden mountain view with the open air bath. I personally enjoyed the bath a bit too much. It was a great way to relax midway through our trip. The hospitality is immeasurable. Breakfast was great. Best staff in any hotel we stayed at throughout our trip. Our room also came with a set of beer, strawberry drinks, and water.

If you happen to still be jetlagged, you can catch the sunrise view from your tub or the garden!

For those with tattoos and struggled to try sentos/onsen in Japan:
You have the option to rent a time block for the private bathhouse or rent the suite with the open air bath for similar experience.

Renovated last year Hotel New Wakasa really surprised me because:

First - location is great. 5 mins to the Bambi park or Nara Park, Todaiji temple with The Great Buddha statue, and Kasuga Taisha where my wish to create a viral reel came true.

Second - it’s sooo beautiful and cute. You can find a deer everywhere: pictures, little dolls and even food arrangements. Prepare to say kawaii all the time.

Third - beautiful interior where you can feel the real Japan with tatami beds and private hot spring baths, that makes you relax. There are 2 buildings and it’s fun to experience different styles!

Pro tip: rent a traditional bathing cloth yukata to enjoy the full experience. Also, girls, my room had Dyson!

Forth - the food. It’s traditional multi-course Japanese dinner and breakfast was the best I’ve ever tried in Japan! Taste, arrangement and variety is on top.

Fifth - people. Staff here are so friendly! They helped us to feel comfortable and gave great advices on attractions and shopping!

I enjoyed my stay here. It’s a nice mix of new and old style architecture. I had the breakfast, but not the dinner and it was great, 10 courses, and they were very accommodating for offering vegetarian options

Wonderful hotel.
Booked a room with outdoor onsen facing the mountains in the month of February (cold winter winds + hot onsen. Perfect!)
Staff is attentive and provides good guides where to go in Nara.

As you walk in, the lobby feels dated and you'll wonder what you've booked. But stick with it. The rooms are lovely, the staff are friendly and the dinner/breakfast experience is great. The private onsen is super hot and relaxing too!

Experience was amazing! They are super friendly and spoke to us in a lot of English to help us understand. Dinner and breakfast are a must. Very close to major attractions. Minori was very genuine and kind :)

A beautiful hotel looked after by beautiful people. The rooms, the lobby, the food, the private bath were all sublime. Already looking forward to coming back hopefully in the new future.

Nothing not to love about this place! The hot bath that came with the room was always running and clean. Love the tatami bed style. Super spacious room.

Friendly staff with warm reception. Dinner was great with different dishes in small portions. No rotenburo (outside bath), but the indoor bath was large enough.

Staff was amazing. We checked in right away and greeted us with yozu. The private bath at the top is a must, you just have to reserve it in advance and worth the price. They got us a taxi at the end of our stay to take us to Nara JR station.

Rooms are Spacious and modern but well mixed with traditional Japanese style. You have a view of Todai-Ji temple from your balcony and top with that, you have private Japanese bathtub in your balcony. Yes, you can look Todai-Ji from open air bathtub.
Excellent location that short distance to all your needs.

Superb hotel and amazing dinner - the best we had in Japan! Staff were so helpful and the location was great.

Very good! The building itself is beautiful, a very good mix of old Japanese style and modern. The food was very good and the beds were comfortable, giving me the best night sleep I've had in a while. The public bath was also very good. It was clean and had two baths. The stools were a bit uncomfortable but still good. The staff were incredibly kind, giving us directions for the best spots to visit and even let us keep our luggage with them for a few hours after we checked out. They gave us hot towels and sweet tea, which was good to have after running through the crowded train stations. The only downside was finding it. There are many little paths and shortcuts throughout, making it difficult and took time to find the hotel. Other than that, the hotel was a solid 10/10. I wish I could've stayed longer!

Superlative Ryokan. The unassuming exterior and the eclectic lobby betray rooms that exude traditional charm and warmth. We stayed in the deluxe panoramic room, which had views as spectacular as promised and the largest in room bath I had ever seen - can comfortably fit two people. Everything was clean and well maintained to a notable degree. Only had breakfast, but the Japanese breakfast provided an excellent selection. Would recommend to anyone looking to stay in Nara, possibly even for two nights just to enjoy the Ryokan itself.

Stayed in the Deluxe Room w/Private Garden located on the 4th Floor. Included in the room was an open air onsen, refrigerator w/free drinks, private seating area outside, nice size TV and comfortable futon bed. The room was very clean, open & spacious. The staff spoke good English, maps were also in English along with a free English speaking guide. You are located very close to and within walking distance for most temples, museums and parks. Overall, great value for the price!

We had arrived extremely late due into Nara, having flown into Tokyo and traveled via train, and they graciously waited on us and checked us in. Very friendly and helpful staff. The hotel was within walking distance of many parks and landmarks, as well as the city district of Nara. The public bath was well maintained and relaxing experience. The breakfasts were great, with an option of a Japanese or Western style breakfast asked of you each night prior. We love Nara and can't wait to be back at this Ryokan.

This hotel is really for people who wanna explore Nara. Even the small, cheap room is really nice. The atmosphere is calm and the service is great. They have a bathtup outside on the balcony where you can take a relaxing bath. Of course with the view obscured so no one can peek. Other than that, there is a shared bath where you can shower and relax in the big bath.

The place was awesome. The stuff is very welcoming and always willing to help. They made sure that the room was ready while we were at dinner. The dinner was incredible and with lots of details reminding us the season (seasonal vegetables, fruits, decorations...). Also the public bath was big and full of amenities. I'd definitely recommend staying here and also having dinner here. Totally worth it!

We had two great stays at this hotel. The staff are really nice and helpful- they helped us with some bookings and also recommended a couple of local places off the beaten track (which probably ended up being my favourites whilst in Japan). Amazing service, impeccably clean and comfortable rooms. Would highly recommend staying here to anybody.

Wonderful experience , highly recommend to all those visitors who would like to enjoy sophisticated Japanese's hotel service at a reasonable price . It would be perfect if toilet could be installed inside the hotspring area. We would find no other better choice but staying in this hotel in future when we come to Nara again .