Gora Tensui

Location

Tucked away down a side street in the hill village of Gora near Hakone, you will find “Gora Tensui”, around 1.5 hours by car or train from Tokyo, and the scenery here is beautiful. Gora train station and the cable car are only a 1 minute walk away giving you immediate access to the most pleasant way to explore this part of Japan, by train, rack rail and cable car.

On arrival you will experience one of the most unique bars in the world. We'll leave it at that and not spoil it, but it's a great way to be greeted, especially after a long journey. You couldn't have arrived in a more hospitable place.

Rooms

There are 17 rooms in total, 4 of which are unique, the remainder are very similar aside from which bed type you will get; a couple of western style bedrooms being available in the standard category.

Some rooms have private Onsen or rotenburo on the balcony or partially enclosed within the confines of the bathroom and most rooms have fine views out to Mt. Soun. The rooms are all brilliantly equipped and designed, our personal favourite being the semi western/ Japanese style bedrooms. You'll get a flat screen TV, air-conditioning/ heating, designer bathroom with large shower, Yukata and tatami sandals to wear during your stay, separate sitting area, mini bar, LAN internet, safe and DD phone. Each room also has its own porch behind a slatted sliding door before entering the main room where there is a small hallway.

Dining

With Japanese standards of cuisine so high, it is often very difficult to pick a winner, but if we had to, the food at Gora Tensui would be it, and that is from a selection of the highest grade restaurants/ ryokan in the country. Quite simply, the food is exquisite and sensational. Some of the 14 dishes are so imaginative it is hard to believe, others are purely from the Japanese school of simple brilliance, using the very finest ingredients and produce, particularly the fish and meat.

The restaurant is another design classic and each room effectively has its own table for breakfast and dinner, both of which are served between set times of 6 - 9.30pm and from 8-9.30 am. The breakfast is Japanese and excellent in every way.

Spa / Onsen

The hotel has both indoor and outdoor communal baths, 2 private Rotenburos on the 4 th floor overlooking the hills, a “rock bath” (rather like a sauna but better) and as mentioned, some rooms have their own private rotenburo.

The completely untouched milky waters of the outdoor Onsen are the finest we've seen in Japan to date.

The private Onsen in the rooms that have them can be temperature controlled, again using natural spring waters, this time of the cold variety! There are also negatively charged ions flowing through the 2 private rotenburos on the 4 th floor to help detoxify your body.

Overall

This is an excellent base from which to explore the Hakone area, with some unique features and special rooms. The cuisine is a particular highlight, and the access to the local area via Gora's hub only 1 minute away means y ou can gain a vantage point over the whole area by using the cable car and “ropeways” that cross the hills towards Lake Ashi. On a clear day, great views of Mount Fuji can be seen from the “Ropeway”.

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