Takachiho Ryokan Shinsen — Hotel in Takachiho

When we close our eyes and imagine the quintessential Japanese luxury ryokan, Takachiho Ryokan Shinsen is among the first properties that springs to our mind. It represents everything awesome about the best ryokans with almost zero drawbacks, and we departed from Shinsen awestruck at how perfect every aspect of our stay was. From the incredible Omotenashi service, gorgeous gardens, architectural elegance, spacious and beautiful villa room, mind-blowing kaiseki cuisine to the terrific private open-air Onsen bath, everything about Shinsen emphatically screams "destination ryokan."||||Shinsen is a family-owned property with a total of just 15 rooms among 3 separate areas: the Honkan (main), Bekkan and Hanare. They are within 1-minute walking distance form one another, and each area has its own unique character - the landscaping is fascinating, as well as the various private dining rooms that are in each building. For instance, in front of the Honkan main entrance is a dry rock garden that is reminiscent of the famed Ryoan-ji in Kyoto, while in the Bekkan it has that plus a variety of perfectly manicured vegetation as well as a small, red-painted traditional-style bridge. The private dining rooms each have its own character as well as views out of the window; we especially loved the view from one of the Bekkan "Koshitsu" rooms during our dinner on the second evening - the window faces the garden, which is lit up from the ground, resulting in a mesmerizing view of the rock garden patterns, mysterious trees and the pretty red bridge. For every meal (whether it's for breakfast or dinner), they escorted us from our room to a different private dining room located in various locations throughout the property.||||We spent all 3 nights in a room called "Manyo," a detached villa that was located in the Hanare section of Shinsen. Ms. Kumi Sato, the charming and elegant "Okami-san" (Proprietress) mentioned that Manyo is the best room at the property. It's a generous 100m² in size, and thoroughly modern with all of the creature comforts that one would expect at a top-flight luxury hotel. Manyo's room consisted of a bedroom with two double Western-style beds, a living room with a sofa, coffee table and a large, flat-screen television, and a Japanese-style tatami room as well. It's an open floor plan, although each section of the room can be closed off by sliding the walls shut for privacy (or peace and quiet.) Very versatile! The Villa had a large patio with a beautiful zen-style rock garden beyond it. Off to the side is an outdoor, free-flowing Onsen (hot springs) bath made of Hinoki wood. Next to the Onsen (and inside the Villa) is the vanity, toilet and indoor (regular) bath and shower. The layout of the Villa, as well as the furnishings and decor was all top-notch - the perfect setting to have a lengthy, relaxing stay in the Villa should you opt not to explore the Takachiho area. If there is one minor nitpick, it has to do with the lack of dual sinks, which is a standard feature in most Suites at top ryokans. Curiously, Manyo has two toilets - the second one is located in a detached structure in the yard; it consists of a toilet and a small sink (no vanity)... kind of useless if you ask me.||||Food was an absolute highlight during our time at Shinsen. I would go as far as including Shinsen among the top 3 most memorable dining experiences of all-time, and potentially #1. It was Kaiseki-style in general, but the dishes were so creative that I'd almost place the cuisine into a category all its own. For example, Shinsen offers its own branded Caviar, taken from Sturgeon that is locally raised in Takachiho. Not only was the Caviar amazing, but the mini Pancake-style bread and the wonderful butter that accompany the Caviar was an incredible compliment! We've never had Caviar in this way, but it was - far and away - the best Caviar serving we've ever had. Almost everything they served can be best described as either "best of" or "uniquely incredible." We're big fans of "Ayu," (Sweetfish in English) a freshwater fish that only lives in the clearest and coldest of mountain rivers and lakes. We've tried tons of Ayu in our time, but the one offered by Shinsen was - full stop - the very best. Supposedly the husband of the Proprietress is part of a cooperative that owns a section of the Gokase River that is particularly cold and deep with strong currents (and therefore has treachous conditions for fishing and very difficult to catch the Ayu), and contains the best Ayu in the area. We definitely believe the explanation; the Ayu was fresh, full of fatty, Omega-3 flavor and salted/grilled to perfection. "Now, THIS is what Ayu really tastes like!" was the comment that was repeatedly made by my wife. There were many other incredible dishes, but I'll explain just a few of them. Wild (not farmed) Hamachi (Yellowtail, aka Japanese Amberjack) is incredibly rare and extremely expensive; it was served as Sashimi - the Hamachi's eyes were completely translucent (meaning it's extremely fresh), and its outer skin was super shiny and reflective - also a sign of a healthy and fresh fish. While Tajima, Kobe and Matsuzaka Beef are the three most renowned Wagyu, Miyazaki beef is equally revered in Japan. And the special A5 beef (from Ozaki ranch) was absolutely incredible. Perfect colors, wonderfully marbled, amazingly flavorful, and perfectly cooked to bring out maximum Umami. While the Ozaki Beef, Ayu and Caviar are offered as extra-cost options, even the "normal" Kaiseki dishes were exceptional. Something as simple as clear soup with Steamed Clam Cake, Kabosu (a type of Citrus Fruit), Shimeji Mushrooms and Japanese Wild Parsley was mind-blowingly awesome. And the deep-fried Mehikari (Greeneye), Jerusalem Artichoke and Shishito Pepper Tempura was light, crispy and full of natural flavors. A pinch of salt is all that was needed to bring out the wonderful inherent taste of the ingredients. While I would not consider the breakfast to be as equally amazing, it still was quite an elaborate affair with a good amount of volume - perfectly satisfying although not quite as memorable as dinner.||||Service was another highlight. Shinsen exhibits a tranquil vibe, and the service ethos is consistent with that and can best be described as a perfect balance between discrete yet anticipatory, dignified yet down to earth (and not cold), and customer-first oriented but not to the point where they fawn over each comment or request that we made. Everyone from the parking attendent to our designated "Nakai-san" (Room Attendant/Server/Butler combo person) to the Proprietress were lovely. And, when they asked us how our day went after returning from touring the area, we can definitely sense that it's more than lip service. They genuinely cared about our experience - not just at Shinsen, but Takachiho and Miyazaki/Kumamoto as a whole. While the attentive and personal service was terrific, their policies were also unlike many top ryokans in that they offer more options to guests, and are flexible about it as well. As an example, they offer laundry service - very few ryokans offer this, especially small, family-run operations like Shinsen. I'm not sure if they do it in-house or outsource it to an external establishment, but the fact they offer it at all speaks volumes about their desire to do anything for the guest, and not limiting their offerings based on what they want to do or are able to do.||||Shinsen is definitely a place that my wife and I will fondly talk about for many years to come. We can't wait to return in the future, sharing the experience next time with family...

We loved our 2-night stay at Ryokan Shinsen - everything here was near perfection, with fantastic and caring service, an outstanding room (we had one of the smaller villas with a private outdoor bath, and beautifully landscaped garden) with very comfortable beds and lots of space, superb bathroom amenities and Japanese bath facilities, and lavish breakfasts and dinners that were always served in different settings: Ryokan Shinsen has expanded quite a bit - sign of its success, so we could sample a first dinner in the original main building in a private tatami room, a second dinner in the just-opened new wing of the hotel with fantastic gardens, and breakfast near our villa). A dress-up service for the women for dinner with a choice of free Kimono is also offered - a nice experience, and great for wonderful picture memories.||Not much we could suggest to improve - only (as somewhat usual in Japan) it was impossible to truly darken the room to sleep fully, forcing light-sensitive sleepers like me to get up somewhat early in the summers. Also the food presentation was outstanding, likely the most elaborate we have experienced on our multiple trips to Japan - though the taste did not always match that, and was sometimes rather bland.||We highly recommend Ryokan Shinsen, it‘s a beautiful place is you seek a bit of reclusion from this world and private time as a couple or family, and want to experience the stunning beauty of the Takachiho area: the gorge is somewhat overrated (at least for a European living in Switzerland), but the countless views and incredible waterfalls (would particularly recommend Unoko Falls, near Gokase) make it worth...

We have never been so well catered to and I have stayed at other ryokans before. The facilities and food were fantastic and the staff was very attentive. They would talk to us about our plans and provide tips on getting there. There were a couple of very above and beyond moments we had during our four night stay here. The first being when we went to see the Takachiho Kagura show at the temple a few minutes away. They helped us to dress in yukata and drove us there. When we arrived, the driver ran up the hill to the temple ahead of us to get us tickets before they could be sold out. The other moment was when we asked about the hyuganatsu fruit we had for dessert the night before. They actually called around the local markets to see if there was any left for us to purchase and unfortunately, the fruit was not in season but they surprised us later that night with hyuganatsu in our salad and the hyuganatsu jelly we loved so much the night before. We grew to adore our attendant Chung Shu Fan who took us to our dining rooms and was very kind and spoke to us in English as we struggled with the Japanese language. We always looked forward to breakfast and dinner here where we were served the best of the...