Hakone Ryokan - Kiritani Hakoneso

We spent one night in a small family-run ryokan in Hakone, which was located away from the main stations, but still within walking distance of one of the trolley car stations - and about 15 mins walk (albeit uphill) from Gora. There weren't any English signs along the way, but fortunately we had a map (printed out from Google) and the name of the place in Japanese, which helped us to find it easily.
We were put up at the new building across the road from the original guest house (in photo above). They had English-speaking staff, which made things very easy for us.

We booked a room with an ensuite toilet but without a bathroom, since we knew we would be taking our showers in the onsen.

We checked in about an hour before dinner time, which gave us time to stretch out and enjoy a hot cup of tea

So we had green tea with a red bean cookie, which was really nice.

Dinner was served in the dining hall, since we didn't really want to pay extra for having it served in our room. We didn't mind one bit, particularly after we saw the spread.

Sashimi - hamachi, amaebi and ika

From top: snail, some ngohhiang-like thingy stuffed with burdock root and carrot, hard-boiled egg that was finely chopped and reconsituted into a layered cake; and in the centre was a piece of sweet potato shaped like a piece of ginger.

Pickled vegetables

The closest name I could think of for this was crab tofu - not made with soy, but basically crab that had been creamed and reconstituted into a solid block. This was really interesting.
Fish roe with wakame

Salted salmon in some fish-cake like roll, with jellyfish

Probably the most boring dish of the evening : )

There was a nabe, or hot pot, of pork and vegetables, that was heated up once we sat down. The flower on top was made out of mochi!

A clear broth made from clams and mushrooms. The clam was stuffed with a very light and fluffy fish paste.

Free flow of rice. We only noticed later into the meal that all the other Japanese women were serving the men rice and pouring tea, while my wonderful husband was the only man in the room doing all the serving. Keep it up, I say : )

The nabe, when done, was lovely - perfect for a cold winter evening.

By the time we got back to our room, our mattresses and doonas were all laid out ready for us.

The next morning, breakfast was just as amazing, with 11 dishes per person!

Silverfish with daikon

Fishcake with mustard

Pickles

Tofu and mushrooms in a ginger-soy sauce

Crab miso soup

The Japanese breakfasts I'm used to consist only of broiled fish, steamed rice, soup and pickles, ie. what's shown in the photo below. The only thing missing was natto.

The fish was fresh and sweet

With a texture similar to the nasi lemak fish - ikan kuning
Tamago yaki

This was the view outside our window that we woke up to

The ryokan also had indoor and outdoor onsens - both male and female, as well as private onsens that could be booked for an extra fee. We didn't bother with that though, since the husband was unable to tolerate even half a minute of submerging his (rapidly cooking) foot in the water. The only onsen that he could be persuaded to use was the outdoor foot bath.

Taking into consideration the peak season surcharge, we probably paid about $180 per person for 1 night with 2 meals included, which we felt was excellent value given the quality and quantity of the 2 meals. Bought separately, dinner could have cost close to that same amount. There were also other ryokans that we saw that cost about US$500 per person per night, which we simply couldn't justify, despite all the perks of private onsens and in-room dining. I'd recommend this place anytime.

They have an English website where room reservations can be made:
http://www.japanbooking.info/ryokan/kiritani-hakoneso