Hoshino Resorts KAI Tamatsukuri — Hotel in Matsue

It was a wet and snowing day when we arrived at Kai Izumo, the entrance is understated and I was looking forward to experience the well known hospitality of the Hoshino resort group. Check in was smooth and attentive, our room was immaculate and we had a private cypress wood bath to use and a kotasu, which is like a table combined with a blanket that is placed over heating underneath, a great warming device for winter. We then visited the tea room, where a lady prepared green tea matcha and wagashi for us in a traditional way. A nice touch before heading out to walk around the Tamatsukuri onsen area. After seeing the shrine and some quaint shops, we headed back for dinner, which was a feast of pine needle crab, a local delicacy that was in season. Dinner was served in the dining room, not in our room, which I liked as the atmosphere was more upbeat. The dining room was fully occupied but the attendants were efficient and gave some interesting introduction on food in fluent English. The meal was 10 courses, nearly all made with crab, inside yam pudding, sashimi, grilled, tempura, steamed, in miso soup etc. It was all perfect and we definitely overate. After a short rest, we head to use the public hot spring, which was brightly lit and well maintained. I enjoyed some tea and used the massage chair after bathing, fully relaxed for bedtime. Next morning, braving the cold I tried the private bath with hot spring water, what a great way to start the day! After the lovely japanese breakfast set, we checked out to drive to Hiroshima. Even though our visit was short, I was impressed by the level of service and care at Kai Izumo. As part of a group, it is more boutique and has less rooms, all the amenties are well thought out and refined without being extravagant. While it was somewhat different to the countryside pension or the heritage ryokan that I have staid in with personal one on one service and traditional cooking, it is still a must try experience, especially when the crab...

It was a wet and snowing day when we arrived at Kai Izumo, the entrance is understated and I was looking forward to experience the well known hospitality of the Hoshino resort group. Check in was smooth and attentive, our room was immaculate and we had a private cypress wood bath to use and a kotasu, which is like a table combined with a blanket that is placed over heating underneath, a great warming device for winter. We then visited the tea room, where a lady prepared green tea matcha and wagashi for us in a traditional way. A nice touch before heading out to walk around the Tamatsukuri onsen area. After seeing the shrine and some quaint shops, we headed back for dinner, which was a feast of pine needle crab, a local delicacy that was in season. Dinner was served in the dining room, not in our room, which I liked as the atmosphere was more upbeat. The dining room was fully occupied but the attendants were efficient and gave some interesting introduction on food in fluent English. The meal was 10 courses, nearly all made with crab, inside yam pudding, sashimi, grilled, tempura, steamed, in miso soup etc. It was all perfect and we definitely overate. After a short rest, we head to use the public hot spring, which was brightly lit and well maintained. I enjoyed some tea and used the massage chair after bathing, fully relaxed for bedtime. Next morning, braving the cold I tried the private bath with hot spring water, what a great way to start the day! After the lovely japanese breakfast set, we checked out to drive to Hiroshima. Even though our visit was short, I was impressed by the level of service and care at Kai Izumo. As part of a group, it is more boutique and has less rooms, all the amenties are well thought out and refined without being extravagant. While it was somewhat different to the countryside pension or the heritage ryokan that I have staid in with personal one on one service and traditional cooking, it is still a must try experience, especially when the crab...

I've been to KAI Izumo 3x now and have been returning every few years since 2008. I have been to many ryokan around Japan, but the service here is unbelievable -- once I came during the winter and one of the staff brushed off all the snow from my car and shoveled a path for us. On my most recent visit in May 2016, I discovered that much of the staff now speaks English! ||||Tamatsukuri is actually pretty difficult to get to, but once you're in town the experience is charming. Before dinner, we dressed in yukata and the staff gave us actual old-school candle lanterns to walk down the street in, as well as a little kit containing a towel and some other necessities when visiting some of the local attractions (like the foot bath). A number of Japanese people actually stopped to ask us if they could borrow our lanterns for photo-taking purposes since it was so unusual to see.||||Dinner (and breakfast) is served in the dining room and it is an impeccable kaiseki meal with local ingredients. As always, it was simple and delicious. Not necessarily something fancy and Michelin-starred and modern, just beautiful traditional Japanese food.||||We selected a room with our own outdoor bath which was very lovely. In the past, I had rooms on the top floor, but this time selected a room on the bottom floor which had a small courtyard area in addition to the bath. ||||For entertainment, they have kagura (traditional Japanese theatre) performances in the courtyard in the evening with traditional Japanese snacks served. There is also an authentic tea house where they perform private tea ceremony with you, but we were unable to book before we left.||||After three times, I'm positive the next time I'm back in Shimane, I'll return...