OFF THE BEATEN TRACK - Gero's Hidden Inn and Iwakuni's Powerful Scenery
1: INTRODUCTION OF A “HIDDEN INN,” YUNOSHIMAKAN
As you know, Japan has been blessed with rich hot springs since the ancient era thanks to volcanic mountains, lakes and canyons all over the land.
But do you know the three most famous Onsen (=hot springs) in Japan?
Arima in Hyogo Prefecture, Kusatsu in Gunma Prefecture and Gero in Gifu Prefecture were mentioned as “three greatest hot springs of the world” in the poem written by a Confucian scholar in Edo Period (1600-1868) and since then they have been called Japan’s three best hot springs.
Today, we would like to introduce a Japanese traditional Ryokan, Yunoshimakan located in Gero, Gifu Prefecture.
Gero is in the center of Gifu Prefecture. It takes only approx. 1 hour to the famous “ancient city” Takayama from Gero by local train, therefore it is recommended to stay in Gero on the way to Takayama City.
Yunoshimakan is located on the hill overlooking Gero City and it is surrounded by rich natural forest. After its establishment in 1931, it has been accommodating many honorable guests including successive Japanese emperors. One of the attractions of this Ryokan is its wooden architecture of Sukiya-style, which was built by local skillful artisans of Hida area. Sukiya-style is one type of Japanese residential architectural style. Suki means refined, well cultivated taste and delight in elegant pursuits. Their techniques were highly valued and the building has been designated as a National Tangible Cultural Asset.
You will feel relaxed staying at this historical building surrounded by nature!
There is not only the main building which was built in 1931 at Yunoshimakan. The annex buildings, Miyamaso and Keizanso have different types of rooms. You can choose your room from the 4 types, with/without bath, with open-air bath or with twin beds depending on your demands.
The second attractions of Yunoshimakan is as you guess, hot springs.
Beside baths in your rooms, guests can enjoy large public baths, foot-baths and family baths. Yunoshimakan has 2 large hot spring baths with an open-air bath attached to each., from which you will see a great views of the nature that changes with the seasons. You can also enjoy hot spring water in your rooms with the shower and tubs.
Thirdly, as you expected, they serve great Japanese meals made by local ingredients such as Hida-beef sirloin, Hida river fish like Ayu and Amago, or their original menu, ‘Yaki-sushi” (=Grilled Sushi) and other seasonal cuisines. Dinner will be served in your room. It would be one of the highlights of your stay in Japan to have Kaiseki (=Japanese full course) dinner in an old style Japanese room wearing a Yukata (=Japanese style bathrobe).
If you would like to arrange a tour visiting Yunoshimakan, we will be pleased to make a suggested itinerary along your interests!
2: IWAKUNI TRAVEL BLOG
Hi , I am Momoka from Hankyu DMC Japan.
I live in Kanagawa Prefecture, next to Tokyo and my grandparents live in Iwakuni City in Yamaguchi Prefecture.
It takes 1 and a half hours from my home by airplane. However, when I was a child, there was no plane connection yet, so I needed to use the Shinkansen and local train to go to my grandparents' home and it took over 4 hours.
So for me, going to my grandparents' home is a special kind of travel.
When I went back, they took me to Kintai-Kyo Bridge over Nishiki River in Iwakuni City.
Kintai-Kyo Bridge was built about 350 years ago. People who used to live there hoped to build a strong bridge which should not wash away. So the lord in Iwakuni at that time tried to build a bridge of five-part rhythmical arches.
A few time, Kintai-Kyo Bridge was swept away by floods, but local people rebuilt the bridge every single time. Thanks to the hard work, nowadays it is called one of the most famous and beautiful bridges in Japan.
Indeed, Hokusai Katsushika and Hiroshige Utagawa, who are the famous Ukiyoe artists, have drawn pictures of Kintai-Kyo Bridge.
Near the Kintaikyo Bridge, there is Iwakuni Castle, which is built on a small mountain. I took the ropeway to go there and I saw the beautiful scenery with Kintai-Kyo Bridge.
And also after crossing this bridge, there is an ice cream shop which sells various unique flavors (ex. Normal: chocolate, Macha(Japanese tea), strawberry… Unique one: curry, wasabi, salmon…) .
This shop is one of the local unique shop in Iwakuni!
It was difficult to decide which flavor I wanted to eat, finally I chose a normal one..., but next time I want to try a unique taste!
In addition, the area along the Nishiki River is known as the great Japanese Sake-production area. For example, Dassai, which became famous in the world by the former prime-minister Abe, is made in Iwakuni.
So if you visit there, you can also enjoy finding your favorite Japanese Sake.
By the way, my favorite one is Kinsuzume, so if you are interested in it, please check it out!
Because of COVID-19, I cannot go to my grandparents' home. But after this pandemic, I want to go there again and also I hope you will visit this area, because it is easy to access from Hiroshima.
How about visiting there as a new excursion?