My wife wanted to take her mother somewhere special to celebrate her birthday, and decided that the Kagaya would be a great place. The Kagaya is located in Ishikawa prefecture, which is well off the beaten path for non-Japanese, which makes it different from those hotels in the larger cities which nowadays are often full of foreign tourists. ||||There are numerous ways to access the Kagaya, you can get there by air and/or train, the hotel offers bus transportation to and from the train station. We decided to come by car from Tokyo, which took around 6 hours. ||||The Kagaya is located in Ishikawa prefecture in the Wakaru area, which has been a hot spring resort area since the first hotels were built in the area in the 19th century. There are several of these hotels still in operation in the area, but the Kagaya is the largest and most highly rated. The Wakaru area has been in decline since the economic collapse in the early 90's, and was hit rather hard by the financial crisis in 2010, but the natural beauty of the area, and the hot springs have continued to draw visitors from around Japan, and, should it become better known, to visitors from around the world. ||||The hotel is an impressive structure with two towers containing numerous traditional Japanese rooms. These are available in various types and sizes, and many offer amazing views of the bay. The rooms are traditional, with tatami floors, cedar walls and ceilings, and some have both the low and standard tables for meals. The rooms are fully equipped with the usual amenities. ||||The rest of the hotel features all the things you find in a large Ryokan resort, there are lots of stores and shops, selling food, drinks, snacks, souvenirs, and even high quality traditional Japanese goods. The architecture and design are spectacular, and give you an idea of what Japan was like at its economic height. ||||Being a Ryokan hotel, each room is assigned a maid/server, who cleans the room and serves the meals. The room rate includes dinner and breakfast, which are spectacular. Japan is a country which is famous for food, and the better Ryokan resorts offer the best of the best, served fresh, or even cooked in front of you in your room. The meals are beautiful to look at, and delicious to eat. ||||Besides the food, the next big attraction are the hot springs, which are fed with water from natural underground sources. The water is rich in minerals, and is very therapeutic for things like sore muscles or skin problems. I used to scoff about the efficacy of hot spring water (onsen water), but have since found that it is very relaxing, and leaves the skin very soft. ||||The Kagaya has the usual onset facilities, do a little research about public bath etiquette before venturing into the public onsen. If you feel a little self conscious about taking a bath with a room full of strangers, the hotel rooms have their own onsen water tubs, which are deep and roomy enough to relax. ||||There are some parks and places you can visit on food in the area, you can find walking guides in the hotel lobby. There are a couple of nearby shrines which are interesting sightseeing spots. If you are adventurous, you can explore the abandoned Naoki Hotel, which is the rather spooky-looking building west of the Kagaya. ||||But you don't really need to leave the hotel, there are numerous things to enjoy inside, including live entertainment in the evening. The hotel offers spa treatments, massages, there are several small restaurants and drinking places, not to mention a large lounge with a wonderful bay view. ||||The garden outside offers a good place to stroll after a big meal, and you can see the machinery which supplies the hotel, local businesses, and even homes with hot spring water from underground. There are several outdoor hot springs in which you can soak your feet, or in the case of the hotter springs, boil eggs. ||||I recommend the Kagaya hotel to people who want to experience what was (and is) popular with Showa-era Japanese, and which is a place not well known or often visited by non-Japanese touriss.