Nanyo, Yamagata (山形県南陽市赤湯) – Yamagata The Takinami (山形座 瀧波) KURA01 Suite tour 2025 May 20
Yamagata the Takami in uh Nano City in um Yamagata Prefixure and uh it’s a stylish luxury Dokan and here there’s 19 rooms. So it’s a relatively larger property among uh luxury yokans. Um this is the u top room category kura01. Kura um means a storehouse place where you store things. So I guess u it either hearkens back to the days when storehouses look like this or maybe it was a converted storehouse. I’m not sure. Anyway, so uh 19 rooms. Yamagata the Takinami was founded in 1916, so well over 100 years ago. And um it was uh reborn in 2017 in an extensive uh renovation under the uh direction of uh the I believe the chief editor of GUG magazine which uh focuses on lifestyle um architecture, cuisine, things like that, fine living. Uh so Kura01 is the top room 115 square meters. Um this is uh the main living area. Uh you can see out that um you know I um we stayed nearby at a doan called Sakurayu Sanu about 3 years ago and um I guess they’re competitors that they’re the two top options in this area. And um the interesting thing is, you know, you look at the garden, it’s not like super manicured, but um I think this is just kind of the way um they kind of leave it in a natural state um in, you know, in the in Yamagata. I’m not sure. So you know, two top properties that have similar type of uh layout in the garden. So anyways, similar in that regard. So you can see this is a avent garden modern kind of Japanese uh I guess farmhouse type of uh look and feel. Um you see there there’s some craftsmanship going on up here and in various parts of this room. So, I’ll we’ll take another look from back here. This is where we came from. Okay. So, we’ll go to the next room. So, there’s Japanese uh elements like the sliding doors, a lot of uh generous use of wood. Um, but it’s also kind of modern European and some of the the the furnishings which is an interesting contrast. Gives it an interesting sense of place. All right. And then finally, we have the bedroom. Or in fact, it’s one of the bedrooms. Uh this place uh has two, but we’ll take a look at it. But before we have another angle at the garden, come around this way. You have a little patio area you can walk out into. You go. So a few other things about um Yamagata, the Takami. So in English it’s yamagata which is the name of the prefixure and then the takami. Um taki nami I believe is waterfall flow. Um but uh what happens is uh in Japanese the when you write yamagata the takinami in Japanese the ‘the’ is actually a zah and it’s actually a character a kanji Japanese script which often is used to describe like a a theater like a old Japanese kabuki theater. Um, so I was wondering, so in English the equivalent becomes the because the owner felt that it it sounded cooler. It’s like the place to be. Um, and so I asked why in Japanese they called it Zah. Why don’t they just call it the Takami? Um, it’s not like people don’t know what the is. Um and the owner said that it’s because uh zah also could stand for um a place where people kind of gather uh like that. That’s where in a theater people kind of you know get together and congregate for a special occasion. So he wanted um Yamagata the Takami to be kind of one of those type of um representative uh um places in Yamagata. I don’t know what this is. Oh, see. Oh, so I showed it from the other angle. So, this is another entrance into the second bedroom. So, if you have more than one group of guests or if you have a family or friends, um you know, you can you can be together in the same room. So, there’s uh here’s the uh restroom. All right. And then over here is the wash basin. Two sinks, expansive mirror. The uh you have some amenities, towels. You can keep the towels nice and toasty. Some lotion. And then a haird dryer. All right. And then so this um Nano within Nano this area is called Akaou onen. So it means red um spring. Um I don’t think the spring is actually red but I don’t know why it got its name. So it’s a small little district. This is also where Sakurayu Sanuyu is located. And so uh in Yamagata the Takami you get all 19 room guests have onen the hot springs. Um this one you have open air outdoor hotring. In addition you can see this bath this giant stone. So this uh stone comes from Zhao which is one of the volcanic mountains um which borders Yamagata and um uh Miyagi and so it’s kind of a lava or you know volcanic rock. So this is a um gain kaka nagashi so free flowing never recirculated. So I guess they get some good quantity of the sen. You see these things here? Um, I took it off. Basically, when you’re not using this, it’s a little bit of labor intensive, but um, you you stack them side by side to cover the opening, not because of bugs or anything like that, but to keep it in in the right temperature. Um, you know, because I guess it’s just a better way of doing things. Um, but that’s how traditional Japanese bass were. So maybe it’s more of an o homage to that. So, and then this thing here is uh if if it’s let’s say too hot, you can add water here, cold water here, and then mix it. Although you kind of don’t want to do that because you kind of dilute the contents of the actual natural hot springs. Um, so if it’s too hot or too cold, um, it’s better to let the, um, the staff know about it and then they’ll they’ll actually, um, adjust it, um, you know, as it kind of flows into this, uh, hot stone uh, tub. So anyways, this is kind of what it looks like. The top room category, Kura01. It’s about 115 square meters in uh Akayou district of Nano in Yamagata. Yamagata’s got a lot going on. This is uh probably our fourth trip now and and it’s not like we’re not going to be back again. So, uh seems like a contender for uh you know, one of the top places to stay. Certainly one of the um luxurious ones and expensive ones as well. So, Yamagata Takami or in Japanese Zakami.
A walkthrough of KURA01, a 115.72m² a suite with an open-air onsen (hot springs) bath and the top accommodation at Yamagata The Takinami (山形座 瀧波), a 19-room luxury onsen ryokan located in Akayu, Nanyo, Yamagata Prefecture, Japan (山形県南陽市赤湯.) All rooms on the first floor have baths made from Zao Mountain lava rock (蔵王石露天風呂) and the hot springs are fed to the bath from below, resulting in less oxygen exposure for the hot springs and a more authentic onsen experience. KURA01 is the only room with an outdoor open-air onsen, and has its own private yard (saying that it’s a garden would be a bit of a stretch.)
