Yorozuya

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傳統日式酒店，很濃郁的文化氛圍，温泉不錯，餐食很豐富

I booked a night in Yudanaka with my partner so that we could visit the Snow Monkey Park. Most places were already booked up, so we went for Yorozuya (sometimes romanised as Yoroduya) even though it was a little beyond our budget. At £300 a night for a double room with dinner and breakfast, I thought “this had better be good…” Honestly, it was probably worth double that. The ryokan itself is massive; the atrium has a scale that almost defies sense. We were greeted by staff who were awaiting our arrival, and took our luggage up to our room while we enjoyed a complementary matcha tea. A guide led us up the stairs, handed us XL yukata to wear during our stay and explained the situation with towels. She took us in the lift to our room, and showed us how to access the onsens and where the dining halls would be. We took a few moments to settle into our tatami-floored room, change into our yukata, and investigate the albeit pretty boring view from our balcony. For the record: the joy here is _inside_ the ryokan rather than outside. We tested both the on-site onsen; they operate on schedules so that male guests and female guests bathe separately, but can both enjoy both of the baths. It is worth trying both. It’s a cliché to say, but particularly coming from Europe without much experience of this kind of venue, they made me feel like I was in Spirited Away, if Spirited Away was a series of Hokusai prints. I loved relaxing in the heat of the outdoor bath surrounded by rocks, trees and classically Japanese sculptures, with snow gently falling. Suitably relaxed, it was time for dinner. This was worth the whole booking price alone. We were served a 10-course kaiseki dinner, in a private booth, with attentive staff bringing us fresh water and sake whenever we desired. Every single bite was exquisite. While not 10 courses, this extended into breakfast which was a similar luxurious experience. I was sad we only had one night there, and would go back in a heartbeat. The experience of staying here creates a stronger draw for me to return to Yudanaka than the snow monkeys. We were treated so well, and truly unwound in a setting that felt almost too good to be real.

This review is for the onsens at this location. There are two onsens at this location which switch between men and women at certain intervals during the day. While both are great, there is one that stands out and I was told was a UNESCO World Heritage site. It was a remarkable onsen by which all future onsens will fail to measure up. You are able to access these onsens even if you are not staying at the resort; I paid 800JPY in November of 2022 and it was the best value I could hope for.

歴史ある木造の桃山風呂は一見の価値あり。お湯は若干の電解質と硫酸・炭酸イオンを含んでいるようだが、無味無臭で少しヌメリを感じる程度の優しいお湯。硫黄泉のような特徴あるお湯が好みの人には物足りないかも。食事はおいしく量も十分で、サービスもよい。各住宅にお風呂がない湯田中らしく、共同浴場が徒歩圏内に多数あり宿泊客も利用できる。

湯田中温泉には何度かお世話になっていますが「よろづや」には初めてお伺いしました。湯田中駅からの送迎がありましたので利用しましたが徒歩10分程度のところにあります。エントランスから中に入って階段をあがったロビーには大きな「唐獅子図屏風」があります。もともと毛利家のものとのことですが迫力があります。このロビーでウエルカムスイーツと抹茶を頂きました。部屋は和室10畳と次の間7畳の二間続きの部屋でした。広々と部屋を使うことができました。風呂はこの旅館を有名にしている登録有形文化財の「桃山風呂」の他、「東雲風呂」があり男女入替での使用となります。食事は夕食・朝食とも「個室」で頂戴しました。この旅館はお風呂やその歴史で地名度がありますが、食事をしてみて夕食・朝食が大変美味しくこの部分でも宿泊してよかったと感じました。もうじき、本館の前に「離れ」も竣工するようです。湯田中を代表するクラッシックホテルです。