Ryokan. Akihiko Seki
dining and thin seat cushions (zabuton). There is a sky-lit heated indoor swimming pool long enough for many a lap, a Jacuzzi, fitness center, sun deck, conference room, reading room and karaoke bar. The 10- or 11-course feast that is dinner can be taken in one’s room or in a private dining room. Coffee and newspaper are room-delivered along with Japanese breakfast overlooking lawns and trees of green.
The dramatic entrance to Gora Kadan.
The heated year-round swimming pool.
Tranquil garden views from a guest room.
The simple guest rooms offer luxurious comfort to guests.
Common hot spring bathing area.
The town of Gora is approximately 60 miles southwest of Tokyo, a 40-minute Shinkansen ride to Odawara, then a 30-minute drive through the mountains to Gora. This is a very active volcanic area— and here and there steam holes spew sulfur mists. Mount Fuji is nearby. People come to play golf, go fishing or boating on Lake Ashi, hike in the hills of the less famous surrounding mountains, Mount Myojogatake, Mount Sengen and Mount Komagatake (which has a cable car service). The famous Hakone Open-Air Museum featuring the sculptures of Picasso and Henry Moore, among others, is only minutes away, as are several other museums of interest.
Down a stone path, amidst maples red and green, here is a balance of Eastern and Western understanding of the many nuances of the concept, “spa.”
Address: 1300 Gora, Hakonemachi, Ashigarashimo-gun, Kanagawa-ken 250-0408, Japan.
Tel: 81 (0)460 2 3331.
Fax: 81 (0)460 2 3334.
Website: www.gorakadan.com. E-mail: [email protected]. Rooms: 37. Access: 40 min from Tokyo to Odawara Station by Tokaido Shinkansen and 30 min drive to Gora by taxi.
Corridor leading to the guest rooms.
A treatment room in the spa.
SENKYORO Hakone, Kanagawa
The humbling fragility and power and colors and textures of nature are everywhere to behold. Swaying pampas grass in winds of autumn, mauve wisteria, popping pink azaleas, elegant stands of bamboo, the volcanic drama of Mt. Fuji, the blue-gray splendor of Lake Ashi.
Senkyoro is ideally located in the heart of Hakone’s numerous natural and artistic attractions. The Hakone Botanical Gardens are within walking distance. Art works by Chagall, Monet, Van Gogh and Renoir, along with collections of glasswork, modern Japanese ceramics and Edo-and Meiji-era cosmetic accessories are all on view at the nearby Pola Museum of Art. The Hakone Open Air Museum, Venetian Glass Museum, Museum of Saint-Exupery and the Little Prince, not to mention 3D Space Dinosaur World are all within a short drive.
Senkyoro’s owners, the Ishimuras, are fourth generation innkeepers, and Asayo Ishimura is Senkyoro’s current okami, hostess extraordinaire. Depending on the season, the 41 guest rooms offer views of fiery autumn red and rust, wintry snow white, spring camellia or cherry pink. The six guest rooms in the new wing, opened in 2005, are the rooms of choice, traditional Japanese in style, each with its own private rotenburo and indoor Jacuzzi. A male and a female communal rotenburo and a male and female indoor onsen are available for all guests, as well as three kazukoburo. With a pH of 2.9, the high acidity of the mineral spring waters is particularly beneficial for healing.
The gate to Senkyoro’s new wing.
View of the Okuno Kigi guest room.
Hot springs in the front garden.
A view of the garden from a private hot spring bath area.
Corridor leading to the guest rooms.
The common hot spring bathing area.
Guests are served tea and hot towels soon after they check in.
Appetizers served before dinner.
For the past 135 years, Senkyoro’s white sulfur waters with mountain and forest views have attracted guests from the political arena as well as the kabuki theater. Senkyoro has also been a haven for those interested in learning more about the process of creating ceramics. Guests can mould and shape moist clay in private classes taught at the pottery wheels of the inn’s sizeable ceramics studio. A pottery master comes from the famous ceramics town of Seto. For an additional charge, students can make a plate or two teacups, yunomijawan.
In a variety of ceramic, lacquer and crystal vessels, dinner and breakfast, artistic presentations of mushrooms, miso, gingko, beef and shrimp, are served in guests’ rooms.
There is a decorative mix of tatami and low lacquer tables, polished wood floors, Queen Anne furniture, a stone fireplace of dancing flames, picture windows making ever-changing outdoor scenes tableau vivant.
English is spoken here. Ask about nearby golfing, local walks and hikes. White bush clover or frilly lilies may be in bloom in this otherworldly realm, Senkyoro.
Address: 1284 Sengokubara, Hakonemachi, Kanagawa-ken 250-0631, Japan.
Tel: 81 (0)460 4 8521.
Fax: 81 (0)460 4 9158.
Website: www.senkyoro.co.jp. E-mail: [email protected]. Rooms: 41. Access: 40 min from Tokyo to Odawara station by JR Tokaido Shinkansen, 50 min to Togendai by bus or taxi, 5 min walk to Senkyoro. 1 hr from Tokyo to Gotenba IC by car on Tomei Highway, 15 min to Senkyoro on Otome road
The Ikemi-dai guest room.
TSUBAKI Yugawara, Kanagawa
Camellias in December, plum blossoms in February, cherry in April, and the music of a mountain stream all year round. Tsubaki is the Japanese word for “camellia,” and on the grounds of this gourmet-restaurant-turned-inn, there are as many as 1,500 lush red and pink camellia trees.
Less than two hours south of Tokyo by train or car, Yugawara and Oku-Yugawara