This stay was unexpectedly the highlight of our trip to Japan. When booking, I was just looking for a Japanese style room in a convenient location in the Hakone area. We got much more than that!
We stayed 4 nights. There were no more than 2 or 3 other guests in the hotel, and only once did another guest eat in the dining room along with us. So the 3 of us (father and kids aged 21 and 15) were waited on at meals by a staff of 4.
The staff speak zero English but their hearts are warm and they work hard! Given we were the only guests much of the time, there was a lot of personal interaction including being questioned each day about what we were planning to do, and advice we didn't ask for, although offered out of genuine interest/curiosity and desire to be of service. If you want a more "business" type experience with discreet privacy, this isn't the place.
They offer breakfast--western or Japanese style, and Japanese dinners. Those meals are fantastic, of superb quality and prepared with love and pride.
Because I am part Japanese and speak some Japanese, and the kids were enthusiastic about being in Japan, I feel we may have gotten some special treatment compared to someone with zero Japanese language ability, but that is just a hunch. The ladies set up a photo shoot of my daughter in a kimono and props they kept at hand!
The place has real sulfur spring onsens (2 rooms, which they switch back and forth between male and female so you can try both rooms).