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With a shoreline just short of twelve miles (twenty kilometers) long, Lake Kawaguchi is the second-largest of the Fuji Five Lakes. As well as options to take to the water in tour boats or swan-shaped pedalos, there are also pretty walking trails around the lake and a good range of other attractions.
This tipple might look like sake, but it’s actually wine. Japan is far from being a major winemaker, but within Japan, Yamanashi is known for its wines.
The guest rooms have a wonderful simplicity in design, allowing the understated traditional elements to shine.
ASABA SHUZENJI ONSEN, IZU
The Asaba is a standout in so many ways. Not only has it been in the same family since the fifteenth century, it even has its own outdoor Noh stage, where performances take place several times a year.
Ever since the monk Kobo Daishi (aka Kukai)—the founder of Shingon Buddhism—visited what is now the town of Shuzenji in the early 800s and discovered the area’s natural hot-spring source before then establishing the temple that gave its name to the town, Shuzenji has been synonymous with both Buddhism and bathing. With Shuzenji Temple at its heart, the town flourished as a regional center for Shingon Buddhism for nearly five hundred years. Then came a couple of hundred years of gradual decline under the Rinzai sect of Buddhism during the Kamakura era (1185–1333), when Japan was ruled from Kamakura by the Minamoto clan, before the temple was adopted by Soto Buddhism in the late 1400s. Since then, the temple has enjoyed centuries of prominence, despite going through the typical pattern of destruction and rebuild that has affected so many of Japan’s fire-prone historic structures.
The entrance to the Asaba is almost temple like in design, although given Shuzenji’s long association with Buddhism and the Asaba’s own roots as a form of temple lodging, perhaps that shouldn’t be a surprise.
Shuzenji is a pretty hot-spring town. The river running through it is transformed by rusts and yellows in autumn, but it’s a pleasant place to stroll any time of year, and it’s close to the Asaba. You could also walk to historic sites like Shuzenji Temple, try the outdoor footbath on the river or just take in the sights with one of the matcha ice creams you can find around here.
It was with the onset of Shuzenji’s Soto years that the town saw the creation of its now famed ryokan, the Asaba, established by the Asaba family in 1489 (and still run by them today). Asaba began as temple lodgings but eventually morphed into an exclusive retreat during the Meiji era (1868–1912)—complete with an outdoor Noh stage visible from guest rooms. Now it is one of a select few properties in Japan with membership of the Relais & Chateaux association of independently owned luxury hotels and restaurants.
The room views, over a large pond toward the Noh stage and a wooded backdrop that turns red and yellow in the fall, are as alluring as the interiors. The rooms are classically appointed with tatami matting, sliding doors and other traditional touches, and the common areas are bright and spacious, featuring light woods, tatami-matted or carpeted hallways, and wide windows that open out onto the pond.
There are plenty of quiet spots at the Asaba where guests can enjoy the ryokan’s calm and tranquility.
Heading for the Noh stage by boat. It’s quite an entrance and an even more unforgettable performance. Noh is staged here a number of times a year, and once announced Asaba books out quickly. If you manage to get a reservation on a performance night, you’ll be able to watch the show looking down on the stage from the comfort of your own room—better than any royal box.
For relaxation, there are rocky outdoor hot-spring baths infused with the sweet scent of yuzu citrus, or a contemporary white-walled lounge serving cocktails and other drinks. There’s also an on-site European-inspired spa with a variety of body and facial treatments. And then there’s the food. Served in-room, the dinner at the Asaba is a supreme example of multi-course kaiseki cuisine incorporating seasonal produce and local specialties, weaving together platters of sashimi and in-season appetizers, with perhaps some river crab or conger eel stuffed with sticky rice, and maybe a hearty hot pot featuring local boar.
From the Asaba, it’s an easy walk to take in the main sights of Shuzenji, crossing the distinctive red Kaede Bridge for a stroll through a small bamboo grove before following the river that cuts through the town to the Tokku-no-Yu footbath on the rocky riverbank—the hot spring that Kobo Daishi is said to have discovered and pronounced as holy on his first visit to the area—and on to the nearby Shuzenji Temple. By the standards of many of Japan’s leading temples and shrines, Shuzenji is quite modest (there’s none of the gilding of Kinkakuji Temple in Kyoto nor the intricate carvings of Toshogu Shrine in Nikko), but like the town—and like the Asaba—there’s a calming peace and quiet in the grounds.
The bathing options include indoor and outdoor communal baths. Both have yuzu citrus floating in them, which gives an intense, yet calming aroma while soaking in the piping hot waters.
As is the case with the communal areas, the guest room’s use of light woods and tatami gives them a refreshing brightness. The Asaba is a very historic property but certainly doesn’t feel like a museum.
Like the dinner, breakfast is a classic Japanese affair, featuring in-season grilled fish, rice, miso soup, egg, and a variety of small vegetable dishes and pickles. As with most ryokan, both meals come as part of the accommodation package and are served in the guest room.
Asaba あさば
Address: 3450-1 Shuzenji, izu, Shizuoka 410-2416
Telephone: 0558-72-7000
Website: www.asaba-ryokan.com/en
Email: [email protected]
number of rooms: 17
Room rate: ¥¥¥¥
Served in-room on a mix of regal lacquerware and fine ceramics, the multi-course kaiseki draws on local produce, which might include river fish or even wild boar depending on the time of year. This being Shizuoka, there will also be excellent seafood on the menu.
