Join us as we stay at new inns during autumn. These new hotels offer special privileges, discounts and free perks to celebrate their opening. We first go to a new inn in Kusatsu. Travel by limited express from Ueno to Noganohara Kusatsuguchi Station. Then, take a route bus to Kusatsu Onsen, one of the top spas in Japan. The hotel for this trip is Oyado Konoha, which opened in August 2010. Situated on a hill of Kusatsu Onsen, the inn has huge premises, spanning 23,232 square metres. The Japanese-style inn greets guests with its warm, relaxing ambience, featuring tatami mats and the aroma of wood. It boasts 110 guest rooms and offers guests the use of 23 baths. The check-in time is 3pm, so you can leave your luggage with the staff and take a tour first. The hotel stages a comic story show every night, and the comic storytellers double up as tour guides during the day. During the tour, guests are taken to nine renowned manju shops. Take one manju from each shop and the end of the tour, you can fill up a box with the different manjus. It becomes an exclusive souvenir of your trip. The tour will also take you to a tofu shop, where you can try some tofu for free, and to Yubatake – the symbol of Kusatsu - where you can enjoy a relaxing footbath.
After touring the spa town, head back to the inn to check in. The guest rooms come with a beautiful view of the landscape. For example, you can see Mt. Shirane – said to be the origin of Kusatsu Onsen. The usual rate of the room, including two meals, is 19,000 yen (S$293.01) per person. However, to celebrate its opening, the hotel has cut down the price to 14,000 yen (S$215.89). In addition, guests can use the facilities of Toki no Niwa, which is next to Konoha. It opened at the same time with Konoha and features two-chamber guest rooms at a discounted price of 24,000 yen (S$370.21). The rooms here all come with their own open-air bath. After relaxing in your room, go to the public bath, Toki no Yu, which features huge hinoki baths. You can enjoy the fresh spring water of Kusatsu at the 11 baths here. You can choose to relax in the open-air bath or the indoor public bath. After taking a refreshing bath, help yourself to a free ice pop.
Later for dinner, enjoy seasonal dishes such as taro and winter melon, and a sumptuous Japanese semi-buffet. About 25 kinds of cuisines are offered, such as raw konjac - a specialty of Gunma - fresh assorted sashimi, local vegetable tempura, hen of the woods tempura and ginhikari (rainbow trout). After your dinner, head for the hotel’s bar and try some original cocktails. These include ‘Kusatsu’, featuring the colours of Yubatake, and a dessert-like cocktail called ‘Kura’. That is not all. If you’re still hungry, there is also a noodle corner for guests who want a late-night meal. The noodles are free and guests can take as much as they want. The next day, feast on a breakfast buffet featuring 25 Japanese and Western cuisines. After breakfast, enjoy a chartered bath for free before checking out.
We next visit a newly-opened inn in the popular spa town of Hakone. Travel by the Hakone Tozan Railway to Gora. You can walk to the inn, Kanon, but it is also convenient to take a cable car ride there. Embraced by the luxuriant nature, Kanon is a refined Japanese-style inn which opened in the spring of 2010. It used to be owned by a company but it has been revamped into an inn, with nine guest rooms. Upon your arrival, you will be served a bottle of beer or soda, as a welcome treat. The inn’s cosy 10-mat Japanese-style room comes with a terrace, which offers you a gorgeous view of the surrounding scenery. In addition, another welcome treat awaits you in the room – handmade kudzu cake, which is served with lots of soybean flour and brown sugar syrup. Including a bath tax, the room rate per night is 9,950 yen (S$152.43). Head out and explore the town. Visit the Hakone Gora Park. Built in the early Taisho period, it is the first French-style garden here. It also has a tearoom where you can relax and enjoy a cup of tea.
After this, take a chartered bath in an affiliated inn near the hotel. It uses fresh hot spring water from Owadudani. Guests of Kanon can use the observation bath for free. Later, enjoy a free drink in a chilled glass while admiring the view from the terrace. For dinner, you will be served colourful appetisers, fresh seafood from Numazu Port in Shizuoka and other items such as matsutake with sukiyaki, and lobster. After dinner, sing your heart out at a karaoke room in the affiliated inn. The next day, enjoy a hearty breakfast, which includes fish and hot spring eggs, before checking out and heading home.
Our next destination is Kyoto. This time, we will stay at a new hotel, which has been converted from a kyomachiya (Japanese-style traditional townhouse). It costs only 3,500 yen (S$54.28) to stay at Kingyoya for a night. Start your trip at Kyoto Station. First, travel by city bus for 30 minutes to Kitano Tenman-gu shrine, which enshrines the god of wisdom, Sugawara no Michizane. Then, make your way to Nishijin, where the inn is located. The Nishijin Region preserves many old wooden buildings and the town boasts many tasteful shops. For example, an 80-year-old kyomachiya has been adapted into a workshop – called Fujimori ryo - which makes glass crafts using burners. From here, make your way to the Kingyoya inn, which opened in April 2010. Featuring a Kyoto-style design, it has lattices and a nostalgic charm. It also retains the design of a kyomachiya, thus creating a homey ambience. The 100-year-old building has a tiny courtyard – a characteristic feature of a kyomachiya. It also retains the distinctive long and narrow design of a kyomachiya. The young couple who run the inn decided to keep the accommodation price low because the sightseeing spots in the area are expensive. It also helps guests save money to spend on meals. In addition, guests who do not mind sharing a room with strangers only pay 2,500 yen (S$38.70) for a night’s stay.
