Hoshino Resorts KAI Kawaji

Comentarios destacados

• kochingluo

  14 junio 2019
  become a fan of KAI

  The service is very good, very warm hospitality. Not only a hotel for stay, you can also have the outdoor hot spring, great Japanese food and try traditional Japanese activities, such as making paper and grind soybeans powder which you can take home as souvenirs. We cannot speak Japanese, they arranged English speaking staff for us. The room is big and have a nice view of the lake, laying on the couch. It was our honeymoon. During the dinner. They served special desert to congratulation us and took photo even printed it out! We will definitely come back and stay in KAI in other cities of Japan.

  

• Peter C

  06 julio 2019
  Nice ryokan, great experience

  After a really winding road with signs showing the number of sharp turns along the way, we arrived at Kai Kawaji , the first of the three Kai ryokans we would be staying in Tochigi. It is a riverside hot spring ryokan that pays homage to pastoral Japanese scenery. Large windows offer scenic views of nearby hills and a river that runs past the ryokan's outdoor baths, while the traditional kaiseki dinners highlight unique Tochigi cuisine and the cultural activities offer an inside look at the customs of the past. Rooms are designed to allow guests to fully soak in the area's majestic scenery. Each room features a custom-built sofa that invites guests to lie back and enjoy the views, looking out from the room's spacious windows like a private art display. We had booked the Signature Room featuring Yashu Hemp paper ornaments. With only seven such rooms located on the top floor of the ryoakn, each showing different scenery of the four seasons of Satoyama , like the image of the rice ears during the villages harvest. The paper is made by hemp grown in neighboring farms, with the strong fibers interwoven to become the paper. It is dyed with natural material to illustrate the gentle flow of the Oga River flowing into Kawaji Onsen. The Kai ryokans are famous for its cultural experience to the guests. We were also invited to use a small rotary quern to grind a variety of soybeansred and green, small and largeinto a flavorful flour called kinako , which is used in Japanese confectionery. There is also a workshop showing how to make paper from different materials, such as fallen leaves picked from the ryokan courtyard. The final product is then provided as a souvenir for guests. Unfortunately, we arrived the ryokan too late and missed the workshop. Before dinner we decided to go to the public bath. There is a spacious indoor bath hall and another riverside outdoor one fed by the Kawaji onsen. The outdoor one is made from natural granite called offering a warm ambiance, with the hotspring style being Simple Onsen . The hotspring is said to be particularly effective for healing wounds, with the history saying Toshizo Toshikata , the famous vice captain of Shinsengumi in the Bakumatsu era , came here to take care of his war wounds after the Utsunomiya battle . After the bath I took a rest at the Yuagari Lounge, which is located between the mens and womens bath halls, providing complimentary cold tea and refreshing popsicles to cool off from our dip. Returning to the room, we took a short rest before moving to the dining hall for dinner. The dinner is served in semi-private booths, where we had a great meal with dishes prepared from locally sourced ingredients, such as river fish and konjaca type of yam that is grated and then jellied to create a local delicacy. We had pre-ordered a special main dish , prepared in a mashiko-yaki pot. The hotpot was heated with miso, and then adding the vegetable and beef shabu-shabu style. The miso brought up the intense flavors and rich texture, and we both enjoyed the dish very much.

  

• TheClairvoyant

  16 enero 2020
  Hoshino Resorts KAI Kawaji - 1 of 4

  Having previously had a wonderful time at Hoshinoya Karuizawa, our family of four felt we could trust their brand and devised a driving holiday which took us from Kawaji over to Nagano. KAI Kawaji was the first of four Hoshino branded resorts that we stayed. Even before we arrived pretty much everyone who worked there seemed to know about our plans despite making separate bookings which tells me the management team is really on top of things when it comes to looking after their guests. We were greeted upon arrival and taken to the main lobby which was very reminiscent of Karuizawa and instantly made us feel both welcome and at home. Of all the KAIs we stayed at, Kawaji probably has the most impressive and functional lobby area with sake tasting, a travel library, a large shop, and other activities all centred around it. The room was a great surprise; I had expected a fairly standard affair where all four of us would be sleeping but was presented with a large room that had a separate sleeping area for the parents; there was only a thin sliding door between the main living space and the sleeping area but it offered a really welcome sense of privacy. The room itself was a little dated and worn in places but still very comfortable and had a great view of the river next to the property. The main selling point of all the Hoshino resorts are the onsets and their dining and these both lived up to expectations. We very quickly settled into wandering around wearing the gowns supplied by the resort.not a massive fan of candles (or flip-flops as I called them growing up) but managed ok. The food was especially good; again Id say KAI Kawaji has a slight edge in terms of overall food quality for the standard meals compared to the other resorts, but a very slight one. Food was served in a private room in the main dining hall and each course was wonderfully presented and explained by our waitress Mee. All in all we had a wonderful time and it really set high expectations for the rest of our journey; would definitely recommend this location.

  

• bibbybubby

  03 diciembre 2020
  Must visit

  Pros -big spacious room -great, friendly service -dinner is up to par, looks good and taste good, the food temperature maintain very well - semi private dining room -clean and beautiful onsen - nice salt lemon water and small ice bar after onsen at resting area - comfy meditation pillow at resting area -2 activities available, making kinako and washi -enjoy ginger tea at lounge -ordered massage, masseuse is very professional, he can speak a bit of English Cons - location is a bit off if traveling by public transport - check in at 4pm, only left room facing the parking lot - for the massage, they change my bed to a massage bed which is fine during normal time but due to Covid, you need to wear a mask and there is no hole for the breathing, cant really enjoy the massage

  

• AndraYo

  31 diciembre 2020
  Disappointing For A Luxury Hotel

  The Beautifully Designed Entrance raised our Expectations for this famous Hoshino Resort. Being in the KAI-Brand, it specializes in Onsen- a passion of mine. The staff member promised, "The foot-bath will be open in the morning." Not a good beginning...The rooms are large & well-appointed with comfortable beds. The Relaxation Area was calm with good explanations of the health properties of various Onsen. But the bath waters were not very hot... Dinner Time-Due to Corona Virus they had partitioned the large Dining Hall to create individual rooms-not a problem. But there were no decorations so it felt like eating in an Oshiire (futon closet) with a light bulb dangling. Put up a poster, or origami birds, or how about some of the lovely carved gourds (found in other areas of the hotel)! The food was good, not outstanding, served in lovely Mashiko-yaki pottery but the atmosphere became a little claustrophobic. Nothing else to do in the area so went to the baths again. A little bit warmer... The view out the window is nothing to remark about... The alarm went off at 5 AM which we had not set... We left early.