A trip to enjoy an open-air bath and delicious food in a snow-covered world, about 3 hours from Tokyo Station
Hello.
This year’s New Year’s holiday has been very busy and stressful.
In order to blow away such stress, I stayed at “Kajikaso”, a beautiful hot spring and gourmet detached inn in Onogawa Onsen, Yonezawa City, Yamagata Prefecture, for 1 night and 2 days, hoping to enjoy delicious food while taking in the snowy scenery that is rarely seen in the Kanto region.
This inn can be reached by taking the Tohoku Shinkansen from Tokyo Station to Yonezawa Station, and then by local bus.
It seemed convenient, so at first I planned to take the Shinkansen and bus to get there, but I wanted to drive in the snow, so I decided to go by myself.
A moderate Japanese-style room with 8 tatami mats and a massage chair overlooking the garden and pond.
This inn offers deluxe rooms with open-air hot spring baths, but we booked a regular room that was a little more luxurious due to our budget, and that also had the option to use a massage chair at any time.
As you’d expect from a detached inn known for its beautiful hot springs and gourmet food, dinner was Yonezawa beef.
There were about six main dishes available, including seafood, and guests were given the option to choose two from those.
If you don’t have any particular preferences, they would serve sukiyaki and steak, which are likely to be popular menu items.
I was no exception, and chose Yonezawa beef sukiyaki and steak as my main course.
Once we got past the tunnel, we saw a snowy landscape.
A lot of snow was expected in the mountains that day, but there was hardly any snow on the highway, so while I was driving I thought that maybe we wouldn’t be able to see any snowy scenery this time. However, once we got out of the tunnel, the amount of snow and the scenery were both on an entirely different level.
Snowplows were at work, and about one meter of snow had been cleared to the side of the road.
Looking more closely, I saw a few households using domestic snowplows, and I thought to myself that Yonezawa really is a snowy country as I checked in.
In front of the inn, a snow melting hose was used to prevent snow from piling up, so we had no trouble parking our car.
There was a staff member in front of the entrance who would take care of our footwear, and we were guided to wait in the lobby.
The lobby was small but had a uniform, calming atmosphere.
The inside of the building was heated so that it wouldn’t get cold.
I confirm the dinner and breakfast times at the front desk, and then the waitress shows me to my room while explaining the building to me.
It wasn’t obvious from the entrance, but the building is quite large and connected by several corridors.
Tonight’s room is a Japanese-style room with a wonderful view.
This is the room the waitress showed me to.
It’s a moderate 8-tatami Japanese-style room on the second floor.
There is no boundary between the veranda and the Japanese-style room, so even the 8 tatami mat room feels quite spacious.
The futons were already prepared for us.
There was still some time until dusk, and a little snow had started to fall, but I looked out the window to see a wonderful sight.
Snow had piled up where I had been told there was a pond, and the trees on the floating island in the pond were completely covered in snow.
The snow on the roof of the building next door looked like it was about to fall at any moment.
“Yes, this is the view I wanted to see!” I said excitedly.
After enjoying the delicious looking hot spring manju, we decided to go for a walk around the neighborhood before the sun went down.
The inn staff told us to wear rain boots if we went out, so we decided to borrow some from the inn and head out.
Near Kajikaso, there are plenty of travel attractions, such as snow huts and public baths with natural hot springs.
I went out for a walk near my lodging and came across a bridge, so I went to check it out.
There was a pile of snow at the base of the bridge and on both sides of the river, creating a snowy landscape.
Several snow igloos had been built as the Kamakura Festival is coming up soon.
Apparently you can order delivery from nearby restaurants from inside the igloos.
There were several public baths with natural hot springs near the inn.
It seems tourists can also use it by paying a fee.
The admission fee is 200 yen and it is open from 5pm to 10pm.
Tickets can be purchased inside the building or at a nearby store.
Please be a good traveler. Don’t bother local people.
There is also a tourist information center, and it seems that you can use the unmanned sales and foot baths.
The foot bath seat was covered in snow, so we gave up on going this time.
There were hardly any people around, but I felt an indescribable excitement, as if I was visiting grandma’s house in a snowy country.
A nearby store was selling soft-boiled eggs called radium eggs, so I bought a pack.
As the sun was setting and the snow was falling heavier, we decided to go back to the inn and warm ourselves up in the hot springs.
The hot spring is divided into two areas, one for men and one for women.
Return to the inn and choose a yukata in your size at the yukata corner next to the lobby.
The hot springs are switched between men and women depending on the time, and the one on the second floor has an open-air bath.
Asamidori is a large bath on the first floor that only has an indoor bath.
In the evening, Asamidori was in the women’s bath.
There is a family bath next to the women’s bath.
It seems you can use it by making a reservation at the front desk.
The water here is 100% natural and is said to be a famous hot spring that was beloved by Date Terumune’s eldest son, Date Masamune.
The original hot spring was at a high temperature of 80.3 degrees, so water was added before use, but since successfully extracting low-temperature hot spring water in 2008, they have been using a blend of high-temperature and low-temperature hot springs.
Asamidori’s large bath looks like this, and you can soak in the natural hot springs while looking out at the hotel’s garden from the large windows.
The water is divided into lukewarm and hot temperatures, so it’s great to be able to choose the water you prefer.
This large bath is introduced on their website, but the view of the garden, a world of snow as far as the eye can see, was amazing.
河鹿荘のホームページより
As expected from a 100% natural hot spring, the water was very smooth and felt very smooth on the skin, which was very pleasant.
Perhaps there weren’t many guests staying that day, or perhaps it was just a good time, but there were no other guests when I went in, so I was able to relax in the hot water while having the snowy scenery from the window all to myself.
It was very relaxing.
The other large bath is Seseragi.
It is located up the stairs to the second floor from the corridor where the yukata corner is.
This bath has a large bath and an open-air bath, which are switched out after dinner.
The large bath is about the same size as Asamidori, and at the back is the open-air bath.
This bath is also divided into hot and lukewarm water, and you can enjoy the open-air bath while looking at the snowy scenery right in front of you.
Personally, I thought the lukewarm water in the open-air bath was too hot for me to stay in for long, but the view was wonderful.
Meals are served in a private dining area.
At 6:00 p.m., it was time for the long-awaited dinner, so we headed to the dining area.
The dining area had private rooms and was quite spacious, with space on both the first and second floors.
Each room was assigned a waitress.
Our waiter was a woman from Da Nang, Vietnam.
A delicious assortment of appetizers was served on the table.
We have a toast and have the sukiyaki pot lighted.
In addition to sukiyaki, other dishes are served one after another.
This is steamed turnip.
It also comes with small side dishes such as shallots wrapped in prosciutto.
We also eat piping hot sukiyaki by dipping it in beaten egg.
Yonezawa beef, as expected!
It was super delicious.
You can order additional drinks using the touch panel at your seat, so I ordered a tasting set of local sake.
I drank sake, which is unusual for me.
After that, we grilled our own steak on the hot plate and finished off with rice, soup, pickles, and dessert.
The bath was very pleasant, and the food was also delicious, so I was very satisfied.
夕食後は満腹でしたが、ひと休みして雪見の露天風呂を楽しんでからぐっすり眠りました。
For breakfast, we offer a free Yonezawa beef bowl.
Good morning.
It seems that it continued to snow overnight, and when I woke up this morning the snow on the pond was deeper.
I saw some footprints of wild animals, so they may have been walking around on the pond during the night.
We were scheduled to have breakfast in the same private dining area as yesterday, so we headed there at 7:30.
Last night’s dinner was sumptuous, and today’s breakfast was also enjoyable with a wide variety of dishes.
It also comes with hot tofu and poached eggs for breakfast.
And what was surprising was that for breakfast you could choose between regular white rice and beef bowl.
I don’t usually eat beef bowls for breakfast, but since it was Yonezawa beef, I ended up ordering one.
It was very delicious.
I’m so full.
The large public bath was being replaced again before I checked out, so I decided to soak in the hot spring one more time before heading back.
My impressions of staying at Kajikaso, a detached inn offering beautiful hot springs and gourmet food
I am very satisfied.
I was very happy to be able to enjoy the snow scenery and delicious food I had hoped for, as well as the high-quality hot spring water that is 100% natural and free-flowing.
The hotel has a retro atmosphere, and the atmosphere of an old-fashioned hot spring inn was soothing with the homely hospitality.
I read a review somewhere, but I personally found the quality of the Asamidori spring water to be perfect and very pleasant, so I was very happy to be able to bathe twice.
I bathed in the evening and in the morning, and was able to relax in the water without it being crowded, and it felt like it had been a long time since I had bathed in such good water.
When I bathe in a hot spring that is circulated and disinfected with chlorine, my skin gets a little itchy, but I had almost no skin problems at all at this hot spring.
The room was spacious, more than you would expect for an 8-tatami room, and I was glad that I had the massage chair all to myself.
(The massage chair was a bit too strong, though, so it did hurt.)
The hot spring buns and tea provided were delicious, and it was really convenient that they provided a basket to take into the bath.
The food was, of course, delicious, too, so it was a really satisfying stay.
This is a place I’d like to stay at again during the snowy season.
I totally recommend this hotel.
Kajikaso, a detached inn offering beautiful hot springs and gourmet cuisine 美湯美食の離れ宿 河鹿荘
Address: 2070 Onogawacho, Yonezawa City, Yamagata Prefecture, 992-0076
TEL：0238-32-2221
Hotel Homepage：小野川温泉 河鹿荘【公式】山形県米沢市 美湯美食の離れ宿
Check-in hours：15:00
Check-out hours:10:00
A quick note: If you use public transport, it’s about a 20-30 minute bus ride from Yonezawa Station. It’s a 2 minute walk from the bus stop. There is one bus per hour, so be sure to check the bus timetable for your return time.
If you go by car, be careful in winter as the last 100 meters or so of the road is narrow.
