Fufu Nara

I visited this restaurant in Japan and, unfortunately, left feeling quite disappointed. As a foreign guest, it was hard not to feel unwelcome. While the staff maintained polite smiles, it came across as forced rather than genuine hospitality.
One major issue was how they prioritized Japanese customers over others. Even though I arrived earlier, they seated local guests who came after me. Without a reservation, it seems foreign customers are not given fair treatment — something that felt discriminatory.
This was not about language barriers or cultural misunderstandings. It was about the overall vibe: courteous on the surface, but lacking warmth or equality in service. I don’t expect special treatment as a tourist, but basic fairness would have gone a long way.
If you’re not Japanese and don’t have a reservation, I’d recommend choosing another place where service is more balanced and inclusive.

Beautiful ryokan with in-room onsen. The Japanese garden separating the residence and the restaurant is nicely done — it is small and somewhat hilly at parts, perfect for a nice scroll before dinner or after breakfast. Nara park is literally across the street — great for interacting with deer and heading to the Kasuga Taisha KoKuhoden, a recently refreshed shrine with lots of bells.
The rooms are spacious with separate sitting area and outdoor lounge where you see the mini bamboo forest. Comfortable beds. The ryokan has many English speaking staff though I feel that it might be a bit short staffed for a place that aims to deliver a premium / 5-star experience.
The reason I didn't give the 5-star is that the food is a bit disappointing. Breakfast was fine, but the dinner was a bit underwhelming for a ryokan that charges JPY150000 per night. But I am probably spoiled.

The hotel design both interior and public area is very impressive and I love every scent the hotel has given us. The subtle wood smell in side the room is very adorable. The private semi outdoor area also allows sunlight & greenery.
However, I prefer to have bath towel hooks for convenience. Also TV better to include Netflix and is not so user friendly. We have to seek staff to come to our room to fix the TV just to turn back to main page.
Regarding the service, generally staff are super friendly and polite. However no help was given when we off load our 3 heavy luggage’s when we both arrived and left. Prefer to help us to carry into our car.
One little good part is hotel offers sutra writing service which I appreciate a lot. Very zen.

Rooms and quality of foods are excellent. It would have been great if there are more options to meal times.
The ryokan is about 30-min walk from HR Nara Station.

This is truly one of the best stays I’ve ever been on… everything about the resort was above and beyond. The room was stunning and so comfortable. In fact, we loved the attention to detail and the incredible design products that were available in the room. The best part of the interiors were the lighting placements which highlight the beauty of the space.
The staff are also very warm and friendly and we were able to have conversations in Japanese, mandarin and English which was really interesting and fun. The bamboo garden was exceptional and the journey to breakfast and dinner was always an amazing one. Definitely staying at Fufu again!

The room is clean and the in-room onsen is outstanding with bamboo view. The quality of meal is high. However, lots of mosquitos while walking to the restaurants.

TLDR: May return for the Private Onsen.
Room: Premier Corner Suite — the private in-room open-air onsen was the highlight. We thoroughly enjoyed our post-dinner and post-breakfast soaks.
View: Hotel’s very beautiful bamboo garden.
Location: Not very convenient. While the hotel has a restaurant, it’s a 15min walk to the nearest amenity.
Bed: Medium Firm — very comfortable. We loved it so much — we considered buying it.
Pillow: Feather pillow — very comfortable.
Amenities: Thoughtful — humidifier, air purifier, facial products (though a little drying for my skin type), complimentary alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks, complimentary cookie (monaka) — I really enjoyed the complimentary herbal bath pack which we could put into the onsen for a different experience.
Breakfast: Substantial and delicious — we enjoyed all the dishes.
Dinner: Substantial and delicious — we enjoyed all the dishes.
Even Better If: it was more centrally located but then the view might have been compromised.

I had a perfect stay at Fufu Nara. Nothing to add to the perfect reviews left by previous reviewers in terms of the property and service. One more thing to add is the level of spa experience. I think the massage at the spa was top notch. The attention to the details was amazing; from the different scents, oil, and music they used to the ambiance. Each guest was assigned a private room to enjoy herbal foot bath and tea/snacks. I could feel that my spirits lightened up after this. This is so far the best spa experience I’ve had and I’ve done many in the same category with this type of property. If I could give more than five stars, I would.

The pictures do not do this place justice. HUGE room. With a sunken tatami lounge area and a super hot Onsen tub on the veranda, overlooking a small bamboo forest. The location, inside the Nara Park (deers roaming everywhere) is perfect. Super quiet … serene and the staff are simply the best — attention to detail like I have never experienced. The Kaiseki dinner (8 courses) in the evening is something wonderfully special — and the same for breakfast, makes the best start to a day of walking around the quint streets of Nara. We only spent two nights here — should have stayed three. Thanks to the wonderful staff … this is perhaps the best place we have ever stayed; and we are a couple that has nearly 50 overseas trips under our belts. If we return to Japan (likely to experience a different season) — we will come directly here. For those who are on a budget — you may want to consider that life is all about ‘experiences’ — treat yourself to the FufuNara experience — the memory will last you a lifetime.

We stayed one night in FUFU Nara on the way from Tokyo to Kyoto. We took a special train — Aoniyoshi from Kyoto to Nara and it was very enjoyable ride. We took a taxi from Kintetsu Nara station to the hotel. Hotel staff greeted us right away and kept the our luggage for us until the check-in time. It is located next to Ukimido and we were able to visit Todaiji and the giant Buddha before the check-in. Once we return, we had a nice cold welcome drink. Hotel staff were very professional and friendly. It was obvious that they take a great pride on performing their tasks. Our room was super clean and modern with some Japanese touches. And the hot tub on the balcony was amazing. We contemplated between FUFU and the new Shisui, but we were very glad that we chose FUFU. At FUFU, I believe all rooms are suites and come with the private open air onsen. We did read some reviews on the noise. We did not notice too much especially after dodging so many screaming school children at Todaiji. At night, we had teppan yaki dinner for our anniversary. It was pretty cool to dress in yukata with a hanten jacket. The sandals were comfortable, also. We walked through the bamboo garden to get to the restaurant. Our chef was friendly and food was delicious. With sake pairing, we had a great time. Breakfast was served at the same restaurant, and the walk was beautiful in the morning. Food was delicious and the service was excellent. The lady who served us explained each dish very politely.

It’s an amazing experience in Nara hot spring hotel! The room is big and super comfortable in everything, the food is also great, and the service matches what Japanese said “omotenashi “, which is complete perfection of service. Despite the high price, you should try at least once.

Had the most amazing stay at FuFu Nara, actually our favorite hotel of our Japan trip! the property is very well designed, very understated luxury. Rooms were huge and I loved the outdoor bath. Teppanyaki dinner was excellent, and the bar is cool too. We were able to request yoghurt & fruits for breakfast, and they did this very well.