We will be in Kyushu in the fall. My husband and I would like to spend a day or 2 exploring and hiking in the Kirishima-Kinkowan NP. I had a ryokan I thought we'd stay in but its priced itself out with the fall 2023 rates. We need a place with Western style beds. Any suggestions for where to stay in the area would be appreciated.

I stayed at Kirishima Iwasaki Hotel in 2018. It is on a fill above a steamy Kirishima Onsen village. It has Western beds, very nice rotenburo. Views of Sakurajima.

It is a typical big Japanese tourist hotel and there were not very many tourists. It was a holiday weekend and there were several day-visitors to the onsen, steady but not busy (I was inside to enjoy the view for some time from just outside the entrance) . There were a couple of small pools indoor on the way to the rotenburo. The one onsen practice that Japanese have that I don't like (or follow) is to soak for a bit before washing/scrubbing. Supposedly, doing that loosens the dirt (or something) before soaping and scrubbing. One/both of the two indoor baths had oily film which was a bit disgusting probably because of that practice by the locals. The rotenburo was nice and clean, though.

My room was quite a distance from the front desk, in a wing. I think I got the cheapest room and it showed. At lunch, they only had a Japanese menu without photos and the waiter spoke no English. That likely has changed. Dinner was not memorable.

I did take the tour bus that made a few stops in the area. The shrine was nice. The waterfalls not worth stopping.

TLDR: Nice rotenburo with great views. I slept in a bed and didn't starve.

mrwunrfl -- thank for for all your information. I think for this 2 nighter we were thinking of it as being our big splurge. It doesn't sound like where you stayed would fall into that category?

It would not, but that was a long time ago and things change (sometimes slowly and sometimes not for the good). I don't recall ever seeing posts about that area on this forum, so there ya go.

Yep, little to nothing on this board about this area. Everyone talks about the main sites -- very little "off the beaten track" which I guess this would be considered.

Kyushu is OTBP and that area, all/most of southern Kyushu, is off the beaten Kyushu path. I think you know that a splurge spot would be easy to find in northern Kyushu. Maybe Kagoshima. Which place priced you out?

A car would be a good idea, maybe necessary if you are going for hiking in Kirishima plateau or whatever area. It would have been good in Krishima Onsen area.

Mara mentioned visiting Obi but that is on/near the coast, day trip from Miyazaki. Takachiho is not far from Kirishima by car, I think. With no car, I went Kirshima east to Miyazaki for a couple of days, train north, and then bus west to Takachiho. east-north-west, so kind of three sides of a rectangle

Yes, we will pick up a car after visiting Nagasaki and Fukuoka and leave it in Kagoshima. We plan to visit Takachiho.