Bettei Senjyuan

We loved our stay here. Bettei Senjuan was established in 1997 as an annex of Ryokan Tanigawa in the Tanigawa Onsen area, and not far from the larger Minakami Onsen. Ryokan Tanigawa is a large, standard ryokan whereas Bettei Senjuan was created with luxury and bespoke experiences in mind. It has 18 rooms, and all of them have in-room onsen hot springs. Despite the ryokan being 26 years old, it is very well maintained, and is stylishly constructed, adorned and furnished. The main corridor connecting the common area and the rooms have floor-to-ceiling glass windows on one side, allowing for incredible view of the Southern Alps range and the well manicured property grounds. The overall architecture is impressive - every wall, beam and counter has elaborate carvings or artwork on them. And in every nook and cranny, there are small but precious adornments, from a flower/vase to a traditional string instrument to a mini display of tress with colored maple leaves on the ground to signify the fall foliage season. You can spend many hours exploring the glorious attention to detail in every corner of Senjuan. We booked the "Special Room SP" room category, which is the top suite in the ryokan. It has a living room, bedroom, a tea room, a (very) mini inner garden, an open-air bath with a view of the river, forest and the Alps, and is stylish beyond belief while still being traditional in general design and layout. Everything from the ceiling artwork and carvings to the decorations on the sliding doors have amazing detail, and really gives it a sense of place. One thing to note - this Suite is almost completely tatami-matted, meaning you sit on a floor (on top of a sitting pillow, mind you) and you'll sleep on futons rather than a Western style bed. If this isn't up your alley, I believe there are other room categories that offer more "foreigner-friendly" accommodations. Bettei Senjuan takes care of every amenity you could ask for - their toiletries consist of Molton Brown and De Medici (never heard of the latter, however) branded items, and offer every item that anyone can possibly need when living in their own home. Additionally, there were two separate bathrooms and dual sinks/vanities, which Mrs. KI-NRT always appreciates. The in-room, open-air Onsen bath gets its hot springs straight from the source, is continually free-flowing and never recirculated. That said, we found the temperature to be a bit on the lukewarm side - most Westerners prefer it that way, but I can't help but think that Japanese visitors (including ourselves) would prefer it to be a few degrees higher. Although dining is not in-room, we had our meals served in a Koshitsu (private dining room), which was good enough for us. The kaiseki meal was definitely a highlight - it was 11 courses in total (which is typical of an elaborate luxury ryokan kaiseki meal) and many of the dishes focused on local ingredients, which is one of the reasons to visit ryokans in regional locations. That sa

This hot spring resort is a beautiful facility located on large, gorgeous grounds, less than two hours from Tokyo station. The Tanigawa mountain range mid-November offered a wonderful backdrop to our suite of three rooms including our private outdoor bath. We spent two days walking the grounds, enjoying the wonderful cuisine, taking numerous dips in our bath as well as experiencing dips in the the two larger communal baths. The service was impeccable, the refrigerator refilled regularly, and late night snacks delivered to our room both evenings. The facility is large but there are only about 16 suites so it feels very quiet and tranquil. Whether you are visiting Japan for the first time or are a frequent visitor to onsen resorts, you should consider staying at Bettei Senjuan. We think it is special.