SoraNews24 —Japan News—

Bringing you yesterday's news from Japan and Asia, today.

TOP

» Japan
» Hakone onsen ryokan offers crazy cheap “Gimme a flippin’ break from the coronavirus” room deals

Featured

Weird
Studio Ghibli
Jobs

Hakone onsen ryokan offers crazy cheap “Gimme a flippin’ break from the coronavirus” room deals

Oona McGee Mar 6, 2020
Tweet

Less than $US40 a night gets you two luxury meals and a room with a private rotenburo bath attached.

Located less than two hours from Tokyo by train, Hakone is one of Japan’s premier onsen hot spring towns, hugely popular with local and international tourists who want to get away from it all in the area’s serene, mountain setting.

While the resort town is usually bustling with tourists, now that coronavirus fears are on the rise visitor numbers are drastically down, causing financial fears for a lot of the local hotels and traditional ryokan inns.

One ryokan operator, however, is going all out in their attempt to lure visitors to the resort for a short break with an accommodation deal so crazy cheap it’s making news around the country.

▼ The cheap stay is being offered by Ichinoyu, which has eight locations in Hakone.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by onsennomegami (@onsennomegami)

The special cheap rate is being offered as the “Maji de Coronavirus Kanben Shite Kudasai Plan“, which roughly translates to something colloquial like “Gimme a Flippin’ Break From the Coronavirus Plan”.

While the name itself is enough to get everyone’s attention, the prices alone are making jaws drop, as the deal offers a one-night stay in a traditional room with a private rotenburo outdoor hot spring bath attached, along with breakfast and dinner…all for 3,900 yen (US$37.13) per person, including tax.

▼ A room with a private rotenburo at Ichinoyu Honkan.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by 【箱根】一の湯グループ (@ichinoyu_group)

Considering that a stay in a room at a ryokan with a private rotenburo usually starts conservatively at somewhere around the 20,000 yen ($190) mark, going up past 50,000 yen for a night with meals, $37 for a one-night stay is gobsmackingly low.

The plan can be booked for a limited time from 2-9 March, with the deal limited to weekday bookings from 6 May to 30 June at the following Ichinoyu ryokan locations in Hakone: Susukinohara, Shinanoki, Tonosawa Honkan, Tonosawa Shinkan.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Kyounosuke Yasuda (@kyounosukeyasuda)

Just in case that isn’t enough to entice visitors to their doors for a flippin’ break from the coronavirus, Ichinoyu is also offering stays for 3,900 yen per night to students with student I.D. cards, and is offering a free stay to two people who follow their official and PR Twitter accounts and retweet the following tweet, as part of their 390th anniversary celebrations.

▼ Ichinoyu was founded in 1630.

【#箱根一の湯創業390年祭り】

／
第4弾は、「なにし君」誕生日企画🎊
＼

品の木一の湯（別邸離れ）の宿泊券を2名様にプレゼント🎁

◼️応募方法
①@nanisi390と@ICHINOYU_HAKONE をフォロー
②この投稿をRT(〆3/9)

◼️事前に施設の確認サンキューです😎https://t.co/fu7ZHuuHrV #品の木一の湯 pic.twitter.com/uEFGFxcdxX

— 【箱根一の湯】390年祭りPR担当なにし君 (@nanisi390) February 20, 2020

Reservations for the Gimme a Flippin’ Break From the Coronavirus Plan are only accepted via their website. Given the crazy low price, all rooms were quick to book out, unfortunately, but there’s still the possibility of future cancellations so be sure to check back over the next few days if you’re interested in taking advantage of the deal.

With Kyoto taking measures to entice visitors to empty tourist sites during the coronavirus outbreak, we may well be seeing more of these super-cheap deals appearing in the coming months. Hotels, in particular, are keen to avoid following in the footsteps of this ryokan that went bankrupt in Japan recently due to the drop in tourist numbers, so we’ll have our eyes and ears peeled for news of more good deals to share with you in future!

Related: Ichinoyu website and locations
Source: Livedoor News via Hachima Kikou
Featured image: Pakutaso
● Want to hear about SoraNews24’s latest articles as soon as they’re published? Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!