Thanks for the excellent write-up and church photos. Totally agree with you on the lack of things to do on Goto and the need for a car. Although the hotel has lined up a bunch of activities for guests, they are virtually all paid outside activities. Since the hotel identifies itself as a “retreat” with churchy influences and even a “meditation room,” it seems to want to project a more reflective, meditative, and even monastic atmosphere, which may be somewhat fitting in this very low-key and quiet locale. OTOH, given its isolation, I have to wonder about its occupancy rate and long-term viability. Although I love the rooms and the balcony bath, I feel they need more for guests to do at the hotel, such as an outdoor pool (there’s plenty of space for one) with reclining chairs, and a room where guests can drink tea or coffee and sit to have a light snack or even a full afternoon tea would give guests a little more to do on-site.
Originally Posted by
KI-NRT
there is no Onsen anywhere on site, which is a significant drawback - Iki Retreat Kairi Murakami had wonderful hot springs in the room, and we sorely missed the lack of one at Goto Retreat ray. It's not Onko Chishin's fault - it is a myth that you'll find Onsen by digging anywhere underground in Japan, and we were told there's only one area of Fukue Island that has Onsen, and it's not here.
Fortunately, I researched beforehand to determine if it was a real onsen or not and knew going in that it wasn’t, so not a huge disappointment. Since there are so few onsen on Goto, I wouldn’t let this hotel’s lack of one stop anyone from staying there, as it is an interesting and unique property, and undoubtedly the nicest one on the island. After all, a hot water bath alone relaxes one’s muscles, giving you half the benefit of a hot spring onsen bath, the other half being the spring’s minerals, of course.
Originally Posted by
KI-NRT
We were also disappointed by the Goto beef that was served - it was hard, chewy and lacked flavor. When I asked what part of the beef it was, I was told it was rump steak. While I've had my share of good Rump Steak, and I wasn't expecting Chateaubriand or Rib Eye, I was hoping for something better than what they served us. If anything an upgraded meal should have consisted of a higher quality cut of Goto Beef.
Too bad about the beef. We were served this same dish during our stay and the beef was exceedingly tender, so I can only surmise that the hotel switched food vendors or chose a less expensive cut of beef to lower costs, or you’re used to tenderer beef than I am?
Originally Posted by
KI-NRT
Given that ferry schedules to the minor islands is extremely sporadic (often just one round-trip per day), the number of tourists at these UNESCO churches are few and far in between. The caretaker of Gorin Church mentioned that visitors average about 400 per month(!)
Given the minor islands’ isolation, which you describe, I would say that 400 visitors a month is a pretty good turnout. I asked our taxi driver about overseas visitors, and he said that there were a significant number of South Korean visitors to the churches, which makes sense given that 27.6% of South Koreans identify as Christian (even higher than its Buddhist population) versus 1% to 1.5% of Japanese.