Sekizenkan

Lovely hotel in a quiet little town. We stayed at the Sanso building, in the Corner Room Japanese Western Special Room (Moegiichi). The room was impeccable, with a private bath, a king sized bad, a deck and a small garden framed by pine and maple trees. Everyone was unfailingly polite, as per Japanese standards. If you have more than 2 in the room, the futon gets laid out while you are away at dinner. Top stars to the futon, they use high quality Tempur mattresses that are so wonderful to sleep on. Food was lovely and painstakingly plated. If you are a Miyazaki fan, it’s easy to see inspirations dotted around the hotel and the town. I came in December and many shops in town were not open, they looked shuttered for good. There are a few food options but not extensive. A few parts of the hotel were dated; mainly the red carpets linking the various buildings. They looked like a deep cleaning or a change was in order.

Interesting onsen with several baths and lots of character. We stayed in the middle building in a traditional room, which was nicely decorated and comfortable. The Roman style baths were an unusual experience, although I preferred the outdoor bath in the modern building on the whole. Food was great in the evening, although I’m not sure how you’d manage with no Japanese. I’m not a massive fan of Japanese traditional breakfast, but that also was well done and presented. There are a few issues with the buildings - a mouldy corridor carpet between the new hotel and the middle building wasn’t great and accompanied by an obvious smell of damp. However, the character of the properties (and the red bridge outside!) makes this easy to overlook. On the whole I’d say it wasn’t my favourite onsen ever, but is well worth a visit for its unique features.