Great Weekend Destinations from Tokyo

Shigetsu
Yugawara Onsen, Kanagawa Prefecture
Tel. (0465) 63-8686
Prices start from 35,000 yen per person for an overnight stay with two meals. Service charge and taxes are extra.

Note: This review appeared in the November 2004 issue of InTouch, the monthly magazine of the Tokyo American Club. It was written by Christine Miki, author of Tokyo Stories, a humorous novel on expatriate life in Japan.

Sometimes you stumble upon a weekend retreat so delightful that you almost want to keep it to yourself, lest a sudden influx of visitors change the tranquil atmosphere, or worse yet, make it impossible to get reservations in the future. That’s how I feel about Shigetsu, a jewel of a ryokan (Japanese-style inn) in the best of Kyoto traditions, nestled in the hills just above Yugawara town in Kanagawa Prefecture.

Shigetsu is so small and unassuming compared to the typical ryokan (it only has five rooms) that my husband and I initially thought we had walked up to the front door of someone's house by mistake! However, as with so many things in Japan, size quickly became unimportant in view of the large portions of charm and elegance we encountered inside.

Shigetsu combines all the amenities of a full-service ryokan (minus the commercialism) with the personal warmth and attentiveness to detail of a well-run private home. We felt like the lucky guests of a fastidious hostess and cultured lady, which is exactly what Keiko Kojima, Shigetsu's owner, is.

Kojima-san is a practitioner of Japanese tea ceremony, and her passion for this art form is evident in the tasteful simplicity of the guest rooms, the Zen rock garden, the two hot spring (onsen) baths and the understated presentation of each dish. Simplicity is the key to Shigetsu. Nothing is overblown. Everything seems just right.

Shigetsu appeals mainly to connoisseurs of all things Kyoto because almost everything here, from the wooden bathhouse and bathtub to the green tea and vegetables served for breakfast, is from the old capital. All meals are prepared in authentic Kyoto kaiseki fashion by a master who trained in several Kyoto temples of hospitality, including the Sumiya Ryokan and the Yoshida Sanso.

In fact, most of Shigetsu's regulars keep coming back primarily to get their "fix" of genuine Kyoto cooking: sinfully fresh vegetables and seafood, while exquisitely prepared and presented, so delicately seasoned that they border on blandness. During our stay we feasted on, among other things, lightly boiled lobster, stewed eggplants that had arrived from Kyoto that day, and peach-colored cod roe eggs on rice. The master’s pièce de résistance was two handfuls of matsutake mushrooms that he grilled in front of us before serving on a bed of simmered green vegetables.

Over dinner we met a pharmacist couple who had stayed at Shigetsu the previous month and were planning to make it a monthly ritual. "Frankly, the rooms and the bath are nice enough, but we really come here for the food," the husband said in a conspiratorial whisper when Kojima-san was out of earshot. "It’s Kyoto cooking at its best, with simplicity and with heart and soul. You won’t find anything like this in Tokyo."

Just as Shigetsu can be an extreme experience of Japanese culture at its best, it also offers many unusual features that foreigners will appreciate. For example, guests can use the two hot spring baths exclusively on a first come, first served basis. In addition, two of the largest rooms come with private onsen. Shigetsu offers the option of eating in your room (like many ryokan) or dining at a counter watching the master in culinary action.

Shigetsu may not be everyone's cup of tea—particularly if you prefer grand ryokan—but few can avoid being charmed by its tranquil beauty.

Shigetsu is a 10-minute taxi ride from JR Yugawara Station and about a 90-minute drive from Tokyo. Some English spoken.

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