Rustic Wooden Ryokan Stay in Japan’s 600 Year Old Onsen Town | YUMUSHI ICHIJOH

Rustic Wooden Ryokan Stay in Japan’s 600 Year Old Onsen Town | YUMUSHI ICHIJOH

Hi! We are in Shiroishi Zao, Miyagi, enjoying nature and hot springs. After leaving an all-inclusive onsen in the forest, today we’ll stay at a heritage inn with 600 years of history. There are six small rustic hot spring towns gathered in this area. So it’s a good idea to stay several nights and visit different hot spring towns. Today’s inn, Kamasaki Onsen, is nestled in the mountains. It’s about 15 minutes by car from Shiroishi Zao Station, with one free shuttle per day. After climbing a steep slope, we arrive at today’s inn, Yunushi Ichijo. The main building is a three-story wooden structure from the Taisho and Showa eras, a registered cultural property. It was originally a hot spring retreat, but now it has no guest rooms and is used as a restaurant. The lobby and guest rooms are in the annex, connected by a covered walkway. It was fully renovated in 2008, so everything looks new. >> Staff: Welcome. >> Staff: Please remove your shoes on the stone step. The polite staff give us a warm welcome. I heard this inn has staff who speak English. Even though it’s newer, the annex has a solid feel with warm wooden textures. The corridor to the lobby is lined with tatami mats. We walk along surrounded by the scent of tatami and gentle speaker sounds. From here it turns to wooden flooring. Check-in starts at 3 p.m. You can choose your welcome drink from several options. I chose draft beer. Starting with draft beer as a welcome drink gets me excited! My husband chose herbal tea. The Ichijo family crest. Even the shop’s old-fashioned look is so cool. It mainly sells local sweets and crafts. >> Staff: Here, female guests can choose a floral yukata. >> Staff: We also have our original yukata, prepared by height. >> Staff: Sizes start from 155 cm and up, so please feel free to choose. >> Staff: This space becomes a bar from 8:30 to 11 p.m. >> Staff: Candles replace the lights and the mood changes completely. >> Staff: Now I’ll guide you to “Ichijo Forest.” There is no elevator inside, only stairs. >> Staff: The interior is designed to feel like a forest, decorated with flowers everywhere. >> Staff: Please enjoy your walk. The stairs are so intricate, it feels like a maze. Our room is the standard Japanese-Western room. Standard plan with two meals: From 29,850 yen (199.45 USD / € 170.76), based on double occupancy. >> Staff: Please take this bag with towels when going to the hot springs. >> Staff: The fridge is hidden in the bottom right of the shelf. >> Staff: Inside are drinks, snacks, and a chiffon cake from the local area. >> Staff: Please enjoy them before dinner if you like. >> Staff: Here is your room key. >> Staff: Around dinner time, we’ll come for you, so please wait in your room. >> Staff: Do you have any questions? >> Staff: If anything comes up, please call the front desk. >> Staff: Please enjoy your stay. I’m already a bit hungry. I’ll have some kaki-pi rice crackers, chiffon cake, and water. The sunken kotatsu table makes it easy on the legs. This chiffon cake is from a local egg farm. It’s fluffy with a rich egg flavor, so delicious! It was gone in seconds. A capsule-style coffee maker. The sink, toilet, and bath are clean. A towel warmer. Both men’s and women’s skincare are provided. It’s nice that amenities include mouthwash and hair ties. Let’s take the bath set and head to the large public bath. The inn has two different hot spring sources, with two large baths and one private family bath. And all of them are open 24 hours. First, Doukutsu no Yu (filming permitted). This is the women’s bath. The changing room is quite spacious. There are three washbasins and they’re clean. It’s well equipped with skincare, amenities, and hair dryers. There’s cold water ready for after your bath. If needed for health reasons, you may wear a bathing garment. Put your things in a locker with a key and let’s go in. Wow, through the windows you see vivid greenery, giving an open-air feel indoors. After washing at the shower… I soak in the hot spring bath. The water is drawn from a cave spring, heated to the right temperature since the source is cool. It’s mildly alkaline, leaving skin smooth, called the “silky skin bath.” The water feels refreshing, warming the body slowly. The open-air bath is surrounded by greenery, like forest bathing. For some reason, the open-air bath feels a bit hotter. This hot spring is said to be easy on the body even after a long soak. So I take my time soaking… By the way, suites with open-air baths let you enjoy the same spring in your room. The surroundings are nothing but green forest. The seasonal changes make the views even more appealing. Every second Tuesday there’s a violin concert. How luxurious to enjoy beautiful music after a hot spring bath. Now it’s dinner in the wooden main building, a cultural property. When the time comes, a staff member comes to escort us. >> Staff: The slope on your left is the same road you came up by taxi. >> Staff: Please watch your step. >> Staff: This is the main building. >> Staff: It was built by local master carpenters about 100 years ago. >> Staff: It uses no nails and is framed with continuous pillars. >> Staff: The window glass is original, each pane has its own gentle waviness. >> Staff: None of these panes broke even during the Great East Japan Earthquake. >> Staff: This is your dining room. I’m glad we can have dinner in such a lovely tatami room. It is a monthly kaiseki that features ingredients from Miyagi. We pair it with a special junmai sake from Miyagi. First comes a set of ten small appetizers. Bright colors that feel like summer. The aperitif vinegar is served in a traditional hand painted dish from Nagasaki. It is house made red shiso vinegar, a Japanese herb. Let’s eat. Pork rolls with Japanese yam and plum paste. Jelly with pumpkin, grilled tilefish with sea urchin, seasoned sweet green pepper. Every dish is so carefully made. Tomatoes in jelly with bonito broth and basil sauce, richer in flavor than they look. Cake with zunda, a sweet mashed edamame paste, is tasty too. >> Staff: Next is sashimi. >> Staff: Three kinds today are seared greater amberjack, spear squid, and flounder. Sea treasures from Miyagi, as expected. Firm bite, very fresh and delicious. The seared amberjack is cooked just right. Crisp outside and melting fat inside. The junmai keeps calling. >> Staff: Inside you will find egg custard with eel and summer vegetables. >> Staff: It is topped with myoga ginger sauce, so please enjoy them together. Softer and silkier than a typical chawanmushi. Eel! The fillings keep their texture, a nice contrast with the silky custard. >> Staff: First, Sendai black wagyu sirloin steak. >> Staff: Only about three percent can be taken from one cow. >> Staff: And grilled sawara Spanish mackerel. >> Staff: Seasoned with sesame oil and ponzu. >> Staff: Please enjoy the aroma as well. You choose the grilled dish. I took the wagyu and my husband chose the fish. You can tell by the look. It is unbelievably good. Which would you pick, Sendai black wagyu or Sawara fish? Seafood vichyssoise. Oops, I am bad at scooping. The shrimp is so plump and tasty. There are scallops and sea bream too. Very rich. For rice, choose mixed rice with dried baby sardines and Japanese pepper, or local rice. I chose the mixed rice. The pickles are cucumber, and a type of pumpkin eaten raw in Japan. The sharp Japanese pepper and myoga ginger aroma make it refreshing. Every dish was delicious and seasonal. The warm service was soothing. Dining in a private room inside a cultural property felt special. >> Staff: For dessert we have green plum with jelly from Miyagi. >> Staff: Underneath is red shiso jelly topped with tapioca. >> Staff: Please enjoy the chewy texture. >> Staff: This concludes tonight’s dinner. >> Staff: Our bar Tsujiri opens at 8:30 p.m., so please stop by. I didn’t expect plums here, but the next town is known for green plums. Sweet and tangy. Perfect for summer. I love tapioca. Thank you for the meal. We go outside to see the main building at night. The light through the shoji glows softly and looks magical. People say it evokes Spirited Away. Wrapped in forest, it does feel otherworldly. We head to Tsujiri, the bar on the first floor of the annex, as recommended. We order original cocktails made with ingredients from Miyagi. Pomme au Lait uses Miyagi apple juice, milk, and amaretto. There are mocktails, but we both order drinks with alcohol. Mine is a coffee cocktail with Miyagi beans infused in orange liqueur. Oh, the liqueur comes in the aftertaste. The fresh aroma is addictive and delicious. They say it tastes even better if you nibble the dried apple as you sip. A bar where you can drink in yukata is rare. What a lovely, relaxing night. Good night. >> Staff: Did you rest well last night? >> Staff: The main building feels different in the morning. We went to bed full, yet woke up hungry right away. Hitomebore rice from Miyagi. Ryokan rice is so good you can eat it on its own. Let’s eat. Look at this chopstick rest. So cute. Five small dishes including soy simmered wood ear. Fuki (butterbur) in broth and shiso rolls. Miyagi’s fu wheat gluten stew. Grilled red rockfish and salmon with saikyo miso. A variety of sides made with local ingredients. Sendai’s sasakamaboko fish cake. Love it! In the pot is Shiroishi umen, a local noodles. It is a bit thicker and shorter than typical somen noodles, with a smooth bite. A gentle taste we crave especially when we are under the weather. Like dinner, every dish is simply delicious. It feels good to be filled with food from Miyagi. >> Staff: Here is your fruit. >> Staff: In the center are melon and orange. >> Staff: And our house yogurt. >> Staff: It is sweetened with horse chestnut honey from a nearby town. The house yogurt is the silky type. This honey is good. What is this goodness. The coffee cup is Arita ware. From above it looks like a clover at first. As you drink, the shape changes. ❤️. After breakfast we stroll through the dignified wooden buildings. We feel the warmth of the wood, the quiet, and the weight of history. Now we enter the second large bath, the Yakuto. The women’s bath is this way. Filming with permission. The powder room is smaller than the other large bath but still enough. Let’s check the onsen rules, then get in. Yakuto is the name of the bath, meaning “medicinal hot water” in Japanese, and is believed to be good for the body. The retro tile tub is very cute. We wash up and slip into the bath. This is a calcium and sodium sulfate spring from a 600 year old source. It is said to help lower blood pressure and ease wounds and pain. The spring quality is very good! It feels great. The men’s bath uses the same spring, with a slightly different design. The tub is charming too. It keeps the feel of an old spa retreat. Nice. Being able to enjoy two different sources during one stay is a big draw. Checkout is relaxed until 11. We have found another lovely inn! Thank you for watching. If you enjoyed this, please check out our other videos. See you next time.

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Website: https://www.ichijoh.co.jp/
*This video was filmed with the hotel’s permission.

🗒 How to book
Booking.com: https://px.a8.net/svt/ejp?a8mat=457LFV+AAX3FE+327I+HUD03&asid=a21022353840&a8ejpredirect=https%3A%2F%2Fow.a8.net%2Fs00000014283002%2Fredirect_v2.php%3Ftype%3Ddeeplink%26url%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fwww.booking.com%252Fhotel%252Fjp%252Fyunushiichijo.html%253Flang%253Den-us%2526soz%253D1%2526lang_changed%253D1
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🚃🚶‍♀️How to Get There
Free shuttle bus available from Shiroishi Station and Shiroishi-Zao Station.
MAP: https://maps.app.goo.gl/HKyP9q9tYaXBNAGH8

💰 Price
Standard plan with two meals: From 29,850 yen (199.45 USD / € 170.76), based on double occupancy.
*Price at the time of filming.
*Rates may vary by season and room type.

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⌛️ Timestamps
0:00 Opening
0:12 How to get there
1:12 About This Ryokan
1:53 Lobby & Check-in
3:44 Room Tour
6:14 Room Facilities
7:23 Public Bath “Doukutsu no Yu”
9:58 Violin Concert
10:32 Main Building (Registered Tangible Cultural Property)
11:40 Dinner
17:56 Main Building at Night
18:23 Bar Tsujiri
20:28 Breakfast
23:44 Strolling the Main Building
24:11 Public Bath “Yakuto”

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