Nishimuraya Honkan
/
During our time in Kinosaki Onsen we stayed at the exquisite Nishimuraya Honkan. This ryokan has numerous awards and recently was added to the Relais & Châteaux group of hotels and restaurants. The wood structure of this ryokan dates back over 150 years and the latest addition was added in 1960 by the prominent architect Masaya Hirata. From its walled exterior the ryokan doesn’t look like anything special, but once we entered into it, we realized this was an experience we would never forget.
The Nishimuraya Honkan is located at the western end of Kinosakionsen and is just a few minutes walk from the ropeway station. Although it is near the quieter end of the town, opposite from the rail station, it is still easily within walking distance from the seven public onsen, numerous shops, and restaurants. The ryokan provides passes with access to all the public onsen within the town for any guests who wish to visit them.
The Nishimuraya Honkan as seen from the top of Mt. Daishi.
From the rail station we took a short taxi ride to the ryokan. We were dropped off at the courtyard and greeted by a staff member who helped us with our bags and showed us inside. Like with traditional ryokans, we removed our shoes at the entrance and used slippers that were provided for us. Once we were checked in an attendant took us through the maze-like layout that surrounds the interior courtyard to our room at the very end of the structure. Since we were on our honeymoon, we were upgraded to the Asuka room, which is one of the four special rooms the Nishimuraya Honkan offers.
Along the way to our room we were shown the amenities the ryokan has to offer. Near the front desk is the room where the complimentary tea ceremony takes place at certains times of the day. Since we only stayed one night and had to leave early for our train, we were unable to experience it. Across from the front desk is the ryokan gift store and a lounge area in front. Next to the store is the ryokan’s museum filled with items from its over 150 year history. Further down the hall was the onsen for the ryokan’s guests and the times were listed for when men and women were allowed to enter. We were also shown the entrance to their fantastic garden at the center of the complex. After walking to the very end of the annex, we reached our room.
The Asuka room is gorgeous, and we could definitely see why it is one of the ryokan’s special rooms. At the entryway (genkan) we had to take off our slippers to enter the room. From the sliding paper doors (shoji) we entered into the main section of our room. Like many ryokan, this one had minimal furniture, and there was only a low table at the center of the room for us to sit and eat our meals. The room overall was very large for a ryokan at 10 tatami mats, and had more than enough room for us. Next to the main room was the narrow sitting room with a table and two chairs that were next to the window to the garden. From the sitting room is a hallway that leads to the garden and the open air bath.
Once we stepped outside we were greeted with the open air bath. It has a lovely design that combines a stone basin and a more natural aesthetic of large rocks that merge into the bath’s construction. Unfortunately, due to town rules pertaining to onsen, our private bath was not filled with hot spring water, but rather hot bath water. We didn’t realize this while staying there, but if we did we would have used the onsen for the ryokan guests in addition to our private bath. Even though the bath was not hot spring water, it was still amazing. The bath water was quite hot and there wasn’t a cold water spout to cool it down like our previous ryokan had. Fortunately, at the wash area next to the bath was a bucket for us to use to pour the water over us to help us get adjusted to the temperature.
Next to the open air bath is the room’s private mountainside garden. This was one of our favorite parts of the room. The garden was rather large and spans the entire length of the room and then extends further past the bath. The garden was very lush and full of vegetation. There was a stone lantern at the end and a small stone path to stand on to get a better view. The garden was extremely private and quiet. We couldn’t hear anything other than the sounds of the running water into the bath. The calmness and serenity of the garden area made spending time in the bath an amazing and relaxing time that we wish to experience again.
In the corner of the main room there was a mat laid out and on it was our own yukatas that the ryokan provided for us during our stay. These yukatas were nicer than the previous ones we used at the other ryokans. Michelle’s yukata was difficult to put together, and we were very fortunate to have one of the attendants help us with her many obi belts and properly tying the large bow in the back. We wore the yukatas while we took a short trip outside to get some ice cream and purchase yukatas of our own.
The Nishimuraya Honkan provided a delicious kaiseki meal with our stay as well. The difference with the Nishimuraya Honkan and all the other ryokans that we stayed at is that we were served our meals within our rooms, rather than in a dining area. It was rather nice to have private dinner, and Taylor appreciated not having to move around as much after his ankle injury a few days earlier.
The dinner was fantastic and consisted of eight courses and a dessert.
Once dinner was over, our attendant moved the table to the side and set out our two futons for us to sleep on. The futons were very plush and quite comfortable, but we still didn’t like that each one is just large enough for one person. So sleeping close together can be tough throughout the night as we shifted around.
Our breakfast the next morning was a traditional Japanese breakfast. It was light and delicious.
Before we checked out in the morning we made sure to take a brief stroll through the ryokan’s interior garden. The courtyard garden is quite large and has very beautiful landscaping. The pond that snakes around the garden is filled with many colorful koi fish. It is by far the nicest garden we had seen within a ryokan and easily matches the beauty and design of many that we had visited at parks and temples during our trip.
Overall, our stay at the Nishimuraya Honkan was amazing. It was Taylor’s favorite ryokan we stayed at during the whole trip. Our only complaint is that we wish we had stayed two nights instead of one. That way we could have explored more of the town and the ryokan. We definitely plan on returning to the Nishimuraya Honkan again, and will make sure we stay longer so we can fully experience what this fantastic ryokan and town has to offer.
Google Maps Link: Nishimuraya Honkan
