[Kanto] Seasonal beauty that soothes the soul. 10 ryokan /Hotels with Japanese Gardens

In urban areas, opportunities to experience the richness of nature are inevitably few and far between. Have you become so caught up in the busyness of everyday life that you no longer even notice the changing seasons? When that happens, we recommend appreciating a Japanese garden. You can be soothed by nature, experience the changing seasons, and forget about your daily life...it will give you that kind of moment. First, we will introduce some famous Japanese gardens in the Kanto region.

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The Hamarikyu Garden, located in Tokyo, is one of Edo's leading daimyo gardens*, which has been designated as a special scenic spot in Japan. A distinctive feature is the "tidal pond" that draws seawater from Tokyo Bay. It is a walking garden with this large pond spring. The saltwater pond is only in Hamarikyu in Tokyo. It's in an easy-to-access location, so why not stop by from time to time?

* Daimyo Garden... Gardens built by the daimyo of each domain during the Edo period.

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Kairakuen in Ibaraki is one of Japan's Three Great Gardens, and has been designated as a Special Place of Scenic Beauty by the national government. It was originally built by Tokugawa Nariaki, the lord of Mito. The building called Kobuntei is a scenic spot where you can get a great view of the garden and Lake Senba beyond. It is famous as a plum blossom spot, but you can also enjoy the various seasonal attractions such as lush azaleas.

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Kenchoji Temple is located in Kanagawa. Its garden is a nationally designated Place of Scenic Beauty, and its grounds are a nationally designated historic site. The temple was founded in 1253 during the Kamakura period, and is said to have been designed by Rankei Doryu and Muso Soseki. It is a pond garden, and the islands and bridges in the pond were added during renovations in the Edo period. It's definitely worth a visit when you're sightseeing in Kamakura.

While the splendid gardens of parks and temples are nice, we also recommend lodgings with Japanese gardens. At lodgings with Japanese gardens, you can enjoy seasonal scenery from your room, the corridors, the open-air baths, and everywhere else in the lodging. In this article, we will introduce lodgings with Japanese gardens in the Kanto area. There are various types of lodgings, including hotels and ryokan, so be sure to find one that suits your taste.

Hotel Chinzanso Tokyo is an elegant hotel surrounded by a forest-like garden. Its predecessor was the garden and mansion "Chinzanso" created by Yamagata Aritomo during the Meiji period. Most of it was lost in an air raid, but it was later rebuilt and is in its current form. The garden is a stroll-style pond garden with varying elevations that makes use of the hilly terrain. Not only are there waterfalls and ponds, but there are also historical sites scattered throughout the garden, so we recommend taking a guided tour of the garden, which is available only to guests, when you want to stroll around.

Although the hotel's guest rooms are primarily Western-style, there are also Japanese-Western style rooms that give you a Japanese feel. Please try to find the type that suits you best. There are also garden view and city view rooms, so if you want to see the garden from the window, please choose the garden view.

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The photo shows the stone-grilled restaurant "Mokushundo." The quaint house next to the restaurant can be used as a private room for meal. You can enjoy your food while feeling the nature of the garden nearby. It's also a perfect place for a walk to work up an appetite. You can also make a reservation for the restaurant by phone.

Conveniently located just a five-minute walk from Shinagawa Station, Takanawa Hanakohro is a Japanese ryokan located inside Grand Prince Hotel Takanawa. The Japanese garden here covers an area of approximately 20,000 square meters. It was designed in 1971 by Teiji Kusuoka, who also designed the New Imperial Palace. In addition to the natural scenery of flowers and trees, the garden is also dotted with many historic sites. Take your time and enjoy a leisurely stroll.

If you're going to visit a Japanese garden, you'll want to stay in a Japanese-style room rather than a Western-style room. Hanakohro has five types of Japanese-style rooms, including some with a view of the Japanese garden from the window. Relax and unwind from the fatigue of everyday life in an interior space decorated in calming colors.

At Lounge Osai, which is only available to guests staying at Hanakohro, you can enjoy light meal from breakfast to a nightcap. In addition, this lounge offers Japanese activities such as wrapping in a furoshiki and wearing a kimono, so it is also recommended for those who want to improve their feminine charm.

Hotel New Otani opened in preparation for the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. Its garden is a stroll-style pond garden with over 400 years of history, having been the garden of Kato Kiyomasa's lower residence and the Ii family. It covers an area of about 40,000 square meters and is one of Tokyo's famous gardens. It is lit up at night, so you can enjoy not only the changing seasons but also the changes over time.

The garden itself is large, so you'll want to relax and enjoy the view from a high-placed room. There are also rooms with views of the Japanese garden, so be sure to check when making your reservation.

There are four restaurants in the garden, and this is one of them, "Sekishintei," a steak and teppanyaki restaurant. In a quiet setting, the sight of ingredients being grilled on the teppanyaki counter right in front of you is overwhelming.

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Located on a hilltop on the shores of Lake Ashi, Ashinoko onsen Takumi no Yado Yoshimatsu is a traditional Japanese inn built in the sukiya style. The garden, with its eye-catching large pond, is also traditionally Japanese. The colorful garden from spring to autumn is beautiful, but the garden in the crisp, crisp air of winter is also a delight. Why not lose track of time watching the gracefully swimming carp?

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There is also a free private bath available, so it's perfect for traveling with small children. Relax and unwind after a long day of travel in a private bath.

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Tenseien is a onsen ryokan in Hakone Yumoto. Within the grounds, there is a Onsen Tenseien garden that runs along the building, as well as power spots such as Tamadarenotaki and Hiennotaki waterfalls, and Tamadarejinja, which is said to bring good luck in finding a partner. After enjoying onsen, we recommend taking a stroll around the grounds in one of the stylish, colorful yukatas you can choose from. Cute ducks will be waiting to greet you as you enter.

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This is Tamadare-an, a teahouse located within the garden. It is a shop set up so that you can fully enjoy the charms of the garden. In addition to sweets, you can also enjoy oden and the summer-only "somen nagashi." If you get tired from walking around the garden, stop by this teahouse for a breather♪ There is also a foot bath nearby, so be sure to soak in that as well.

There are standard Japanese-style rooms and Western-style rooms, but we recommend a room with an open-air bath. You'll want to enjoy the ultimate luxury of gazing at the view while soaking in water straight from the source. There is also a "large open-air bath in the sky" on the roof of ryokan. You can fully enjoy the overwhelming sense of openness while gazing at the surrounding mountains and sky.

"Hana no Omotenashi Choseikan" in Nagatoromachi is a historic ryokan that was founded in 1915. The view of the garden, which takes in the nationally designated scenic spot "Nagatoro Valley Rock Formation", is a precious sight that can only be enjoyed here. If you step out into the garden from the lounge corner in the lobby, you can enjoy the seasonal nature up close.

Views of the garden and Nagatoro Valley can be seen from all rooms. The best view is said to be when you check in, when the setting sun shines on the mountains on the opposite bank. There are four types of rooms, some of which have an open-air bath, so you can fully relax while enjoying the mountain range and starry sky.

From the open-air bath, you can get a partial view of the Nagatoro Valley. In autumn, you can enjoy the autumn leaves. The water in the large bath is filled with bamboo vinegar, which is a concentrated source of bamboo nutrients. It is said that this enhances the bathing effect, so you can enjoy a warm and cozy feeling even in winter.

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Okunoin Hotel Tokugawa is located about a 10-minute drive from the World Heritage Site, Nikko Toshogu Shrine. The Japanese garden, surrounded by the lush nature of Nikko, is a stroll-style pond garden that harmonizes with its surroundings. Why not take a leisurely stroll through the garden, decorated to match the season, while listening to the sound of a shishiodoshi (a traditional Japanese deer scare bell)?

There are various types of guest rooms, such as "Ginryu" which has an open-air bath facing the garden, and "Tsukiyo" which has a veranda where you can feel the seasons, and each type is further divided into Japanese-style and Western-style rooms. If you are staying here to see the Japanese garden, we recommend the former "Ginryu". Enjoy a relaxing moment as you sit back and gaze upon the garden.

The rustic rock-built open-air bath is filled with a refreshing breeze that can only be felt in nature. The cute azaleas in spring and vibrant autumn leaves are beautiful, but the fresh greenery of summer and snowy scenery in winter are also appealing. You can also enjoy nature with your eyes from the large windows of the indoor large bath. For those who like alcohol, we recommend the "Babbling Set," which allows you to enjoy local sake while soaking in the open-air bath.

Kinugawa Grand Hotel Yume no Toki no Toki is a hotel on a hilltop consisting of a main building and an annex. The large pond-style garden is arranged so that it seems to be embraced by the buildings, and you can enjoy the view from various places in the hotel. The corridor leading to the restaurant Yamashina is a recommended spot for relaxing and viewing the garden pond.

There are various types of rooms available in the main building and the annex, but the best place to view the Japanese garden is the special room on the first floor of the annex, "Seiryu." If you open the window, you'll feel like you can reach out and touch the garden. If the season is nice, you can open the window and relax in your room, feeling the natural breeze blowing through.

onsen has two large baths, "Kinu no Toride" and "Kinu no Yume," which are alternated between men and women. Kinu no Toride's "Fukayu Rotenburo" is a standing bath that is 1m deep and gives you a comfortable floating sensation. Kinu no Yume's "Silk Bath" is an open-air bath with microscopic bubbles that give it a milky white appearance. There are five types of private open-air baths with different atmospheres that are also appealing.

ryokan "Gensen Yu no Yado Matsunoi" is located in Minakami onsen Gunma. The Japanese garden "Kashoen" boasts an area of 33,000 m2 and is built along the source of the Tone River. The "Meguriyu Kairo" corridor surrounds the garden, from which you can enjoy the garden's changing appearance every day.

onsen is equipped with three open-air baths and a large bath. In the "Hiakari no Yu" bath, you can relax in the hot onsen while looking out at the garden. In the autumn leaves season, the scenery reflected in onsen is vivid and beautiful. The "Hotaruakari no Yu" bath is themed around fireflies that appear and disappear in the garden, and the decorative lighting that imitates fireflies is also a fun onsen.

The baths in the "Rooms with Open-Air Baths" are filled with water straight from the source. From here you can relax and enjoy the view of the Japanese garden and the Tone River. The rooms are Japanese-Western style. There is a pool in the garden, so you can splash around in it to your heart's content.

Oku-Ikaho Ryokan Ryotei?Kaichoro?Ryokan is a luxurious ryokan with only eight guest rooms spread across a large site. In the types with an open-air garden bath, you can fully enjoy your own private garden while soaking in the bath. The bath is filled with Ikaho's famous hot spring, "Shirogane no Yu." Enjoy the gardens that change with the seasons, the Oku-Ikaho mountain range, and the clear blue sky.

This is a special room type with a stone-paved living room and a tea room, among the rooms with an open-air garden bath. Stone paving sounds cold, but the floor is heated to a comfortable temperature, so you'll want to walk barefoot. The tea room is 4.5 tatami mats in size. The matcha green tea served as a welcome drink is definitely something you'll want to enjoy in the tea room.

meal will be served at the meal place "Tea House". There are counter seats and table seats with a view of the nature of Ikaho. It's a private room, so you can concentrate on cooking without worrying about your surroundings. You don't have to be in a hurry because you can have freshly made food delivered at the pace of eating.

Even in the city center, there are many inns where you can feel the natural surroundings of Japanese gardens. Why not take a break from life and stretch your legs at an inn to your heart's content, while experiencing the changing of the seasons from a Japanese garden? You'll surely be able to soothe your restless heart.