Minshuku Tsugizakura — Hotel in Tanabe

One of the greatest treats of hiking the Kumano Kodo is the experience of staying in a minshuku. Now, there are many different minshukus but Minshuku Tsugizakura is the best of the best. The facility was wonderful. It is located along the Kumano Kodo in a quiet area.The minshuku had free spring water, coffee, cocoa and tea. They also had free cookies and treats. The minshuku also sells beer as well as other beverages. The onsen is a private bathroom room which is very clean and all so wonderful.||||The couple that runs the minshuku are incredibly nice. We had three people in our party and were given three rooms. One room for two or us and another for our son. We also had a sitting room which was quite pleasant. The wifi was good and the host and hostess are wonderful.||||The real treat at this minshuku is the food. We live in a foodie town in the United States which means our city is known as one that has good independent restaurants. We have never experienced a meal like the one we had at Minshku Tsugizakua. The host is a retired chef and takes great pride in his creations. The 8 course meal was incredible. It is served as it would be in a high end restaurant where each course is served as a form of edible art. There was another couple from Nara that was with us during the evening and they thought of nothing to make the two hour journey to experience at night at Minshuku Tsugizakura. In fact, it was their 5th visit to the minshuku. I completely understand why they would travel two hours for the special evening. I almost forgot to mention the breakfast and lunch box which was by far the best we had on our trip. The lunch box is so plentiful, that we ate it for dinner. ||||This minshuku will be the one that you most remember when you return home from your vacation. It is a standout from among the endless accommodations and restaurants in Japan. ...

My husband and I were on our last legs after a long six hour hike from Takahara along the Kumano Kodo and were thrilled when we landed at this minshuku, a stones throw from one of Japan’s sacred springs where we saw locals filling their water bottles (yes, you can drink directly from the spring - best water ever!)||The warm welcome we received was only surpassed by the care and consideration to every detail: heated rugs, plentiful tea and snacks, honor code bar, wonderful cedar Onsen for two stocked with lots of great Japanese bath products, etc. ||Then came the kaiseki style multi course dinner and wow, we were simply blown away at the craftsmanship - every single dish was beautifully presented, balanced and thoughtful, not to mention delicious. The chef owner, Minoru Yuba, is genius and charming to boot. We had the same wonderful experience at breakfast and were pleasantly surprised when they sent us off with a bento box like lunch (so beautifully wrapped!) ||Thank you for making our Kumano Kodo experience both spiritual and comfortable! |||FYI: we booked this minshuku through Kumano Kodo travel as I don’t think you can book through online travel...

This is a really nice Minshuku run by an elderly local couple (with the help of Christopher who is half Japanese and half New Zealander). It offers very comfortable accommodations and a pleasant onsen, which is great when you come in after hiking under the rain for the whole day (like we did). But the real surprise was the food! In this remote village up in the mountains, we were served a dinner that was worthy of a high-level restaurant in a big city. The secret? The husband and owner of the place is a highly trained chef who after working for many years in a number of restaurants in major Japanese cities retired here to his home village. He decided to keep cooking for the lucky hikers of the Kumano Kodo trail and other guests of the Minshuku who happen to be...