Feel Good Holidays ~ Asian Spa Holidays - Wanasato Ryoken & Onsen Japan

Description
Hotel Facts

Location

20 minutes from the old town of Takayama, tucked in a valley surrounded by the south western end of the Japanese Alps, this gem has one of the most magical settings we have ever visited, sitting on the edge of a mountain river with crystal clear waters that flow right past your windows. In winter they get 2-3 meters of snow here and its remnants can still be seen in late March and early April.

Rooms

The 8 rooms are 2 types. 4 in the main building which houses reception and 4 individual farmhouses, 2 of them thatched and over 150 years old. All are in traditional Japanese style with no conventional beds in sight, and are very spacious with a large square entrance hallway, a dining area and then the sitting room come bedroom which also has sliding doors opening to another little sitting area with a huge glass window which essentially forms the whole wall on this side, giving you a window to the world outside (in this case, the running river and woodland that surrounds you).

TV and phone are provided, though international calls have to be arranged through reception. Portable heaters/ air-conditioners are housed in the 2 main rooms and there are a selection of books, some in English. Yukata's are provided with a winter jacket. There's also a mini bar.

The bathroom has a wooden tub, shower area, separate WC and separate basin area. Slightly dated but very comfortable nonetheless.

Dining

The dinner here is served in the room but breakfast is taken communally in another lovely riverside room. Dinner consists of 14 courses in the Kaiseki style and offers slightly different fayre being in the mountains, with a little more meat, including the melt in the mouth Kobe beef which you get to cook yourself in small slices on a tiny hot plate.

As with all Japanese cuisine, they tend to cook what is around them locally so the Sashimi is also a different experience, with no coast in sight, they use a lot of river fish instead, which are no less delicious.

Spa / Onsen

There are no Onsen as such in your room, although the hot water in your room comes direct from the hot spring so you could fill your bath and make your own little Onsen. The main Onsen are downstairs, both indoors, but again built with huge windows to the world outside so you feel you're in touch with nature. The 2 baths alternate between women and men daily so you get to experience both. One is very contemporary and the other carved out of the rocks and in its own cavern like space with 1 hot and 1 cold spring for a really refreshing bath.

Other

The beach here is beautiful and if water sports are your thing they literally have everything here. Add to that 3 pools (2 outdoor, 1 indoor) and an abundance of space, a gym, sauna and and underwater observatory that juts out into the open ocean, and you have a great place to stay. The service is excellent – polite, friendly and efficient.

Overall

A stunning place to relax for a couple of days, or a little longer, and explore the nearby town of Takayama and the general area around. The scenery here is breathtaking and in summer would warrant some hill walking to explore.

Must do:-

Enjoy after dinner chat by the open hearth fire in the lobby and magic tricks performed by the resident handyman who also stokes the fire and warms sake in bamboo trunks by the burning logs. A real experience.

* Please call us for more details of our Japanese resorts *

For more information about this hotel please download our printable PDF Fact sheet from here