Laps of Luxury

Winter is the perfect season for a sumptuous stay at one of Japan’s traditional inns.

There’s nothing quite as relaxing as soaking in a hot-spring bath when the weather turns chilly, especially as part of a lazy, self-indulgent weekend away at a traditional Japanese ryokan. With almost 60,000 such inns in Japan, there is a ryokan for every taste and budget, and the following five hotels from across the archipelago are sure to provide an unforgettable winter break.

KAI ATAMI
Perched on a cliff top in the hot-spring town of Atami, in Shizuoka Prefecture, and an easy 45-minute bullet train ride from Tokyo Station, the 16-room Kai Atami combines 160 years as ryokan accommodation with a smattering of contemporary touches for a luxurious stay. As you’d expect from a fine ryokan, dinner here is a classic multicourse kaiseki affair, featuring local produce and such seafood dishes as red snapper steamed with mussels in eight spices. The occasion is completed with a performance by a local geisha. Bath time, too, promises much more than the average ryokan experience. After a soak in a large, outdoor bath, overlooking Sagami Bay, guests can unwind with a drink in the sleekly designed, open-air lounge. Plush and relaxing in equal measure, this type of stay is not limited to Atami. Hoshino Resorts has 12 other Kai ryokan locations, including Nikko, Kinugawa and one near the Hakuba ski resort in Nagano.
http://kai-atami.jp

KIKKA-SO
While the Fujiya Hotel in Hakone is well known for its gracefully aging, Meiji-era design and history as a luxury, Western-style hotel (whose guestbook includes such VIPs as Charlie Chaplin, John Lennon and Yoko Ono), its traditional annex is often overlooked. Now a three-room ryokan, with a charming garden and natural hot-spring bath for guests only, the Kikka-so was built in the same rustic sukiya style as the imperial family’s Miyanoshita villa in 1895. And like the neighboring Fujiya, it is full of history at every turn. For just one of many examples, during the kaiseki dinner that is included as part of the stay (though you can also choose French cuisine in the main Fujiya dining rooms), have a close look at the pillars in the tatami-matted dining space. Since this area was once the emperor’s bedroom, the regal mosquito nets were hung from the iron rings on the pillars.
www.fujiyahotel.jp

GION KINPYO
Kyoto doesn’t do ryokan in the way resorts like Atami do. In the former imperial capital, the bathing area is less a luxurious centerpiece and more a facility. Instead, the focus is on Japanese traditions of hospitality, historical settings and refined Kyoto cuisine. Set in a former sake brewery, Gion Kinpyo is certainly steeped in the past. The Edo-era building’s dark timbers, high vaulted ceilings and brewing paraphernalia create an intriguing atmosphere, as does having the property all to yourself. This is a converted machiya house, owned by a friendly, English-speaking family and available for single or multi-night stays. As with most Kyomachiya, meals are not included, which is not a bad thing, as it gives you the chance to try some of the great restaurants in the nearby Gion and Shijo Dori areas. Going during the winter also means you can avoid the heaving crowds of cherry-blossom season and autumn. Plus, there’s a nice Japanese cypress wood bath in which to warm up while taking in the view of the small tsuboniwa courtyard garden.
www.kinpyo.jp

TSURU NO YU
Located in Akita’s Nyuto Onsen area in Japan’s snowy north, Tsuru no Yu is set among woods and features elements that date back to the Edo era. There are also rustic touches in many of the 34 rooms, such as open-hearth irori fires, around which dinners of grilled river  fish and nabe hotpots are cooked. Rivaling that as a highlight of any stay are the onsen baths, which include three gender-separated baths for guests only and one large, outdoor pool for mixed-gender bathing, which is also open to the public. Bathing in the milky, mineral-rich waters as the snow falls is a magical experience, and with room rates as low as ¥10,000 per person, it’s one that is unexpectedly affordable for this quality of ryokan. Just be sure to book a room in the older honkan building, as it’s much more appealing than the newer annex.
www.tsurunoyu.com 

ZABORIN
Since it opened earlier this year, this contemporary take on the ryokan has added a new dimension to Niseko’s accommodation options and is a peaceful, luxury alternative to the resort’s large-scale hotels. Set in the tranquil Hanazono woods, the 15 separate “villas” (all part of one building but with no connecting walls) are, like the rest of Zaborin, mostly contemporary in design and feature both indoor and open-air, private hot-spring baths. The level of service and food, however, are decidedly Japanese. The kaiseki courses rely on seasonal, local produce and are presented like mini works of art. Afterwards, the scent of burning logs in the softly lit lounge area makes it an ideal spot for a nightcap. On top of all that, you are only a stone’s throw from prime skiing and snowboarding on Niseko’s famed powdery slopes.
http://zaborin.com 

Goss is a Tokyo-based freelance journalist.

Words: Rob Goss
Photo: Shouya Grigg