Yufuin is home to the greatest concentration of luxury ryokans in the entire country. There are a wealth of top-notch accommodation choices that have their own unique selling points, and I doubt I'll ever be able to visit them all. Not to mention, in just the past few years more than a half-dozen new properties have burst onto the scene, among the fresh and innovative new entries is Enowa Yufuin.
View of Mt. Yufudake as we approach Yufuin
Enowa Yufuin's reception area
Enowa Yufuin's farm to table-themed Jimgu Restaurant
Its main calling card is the farm to table cuisine developed by Tashi Gyamtso, a Tibetan-born culinary whiz who formerly served as the sous chef at New York's acclaimed Michelin 2-star restaurant, Blue Hill at Stone Barns. He has also apprenticed at Kikunoi Honten and has extensively studied the farming and cultivation techniques in Japan with the famous farm expert Teruhisa Ishiwari helping as a consultant. For years, Enowa Yufuin's owner dreamed of opening a unique ryokan in Yufuin, but wanted to do something different. He had long been a farm-to-table advocate, and travelled throughout the U.S. to learn about the concept. That's when he ran into Tashi when visiting Blue Hill at Stone Barns, and knew Tashi would be the key to enabling a brand new dining experience with Japanese ingredients. After several years of recruiting Tashi to the cause, he finally won him over, resulting in the birth of 18-room ryokan Enowa Yufuin several years later (June 2023 to be exact.) Tashi himself runs a farm nearby, and tends to the fields every morning in search of the best produce, which influences what he chooses to concoct for that day's dinner.
Winter salad featuring Red leaf lettuce, Kabu (Japanese Turnip), Aka Kabu (Red Japanese Turnip), and Hiougi-gai (Noble Scallops), with Noble Scallops, Onions and Shallot dressing
Pickled beets, Mozzarella, Chicory, sliced dried Persimmons and Beets sauce
Seki Saba Sashimi-su (Vinegared Seki Saba Mackerel sashimi), Mizuna (Japanese mustard spinach), Kanso Saseta Kinkan (Dried Kumquat), Ball Turnip & Celery with Dill herb oil
Vegetable bouquet of Carrots, Carrot leaves, Kale, Nanohana (Young ferns of a rapeseed plant), Hakusai (Japanese cabbage) with Yogurt and Chives Sauce, Tumeric & Yogurt sauce, Carrot leaves sauce and Apple butter sauce
Kale dessert.... unique and tasty
We found Tashi's creations extraordinary, and better than anywhere else that practices similar concepts. We found that Enowa's dining experienced eclipsed even that of SingleThread Farm - Restaurant in Sonoma, the previous benchmark in our minds (just barely, though.) I spent a great deal of time talking with Tashi, and he attributed the any difference to the superior Japanese ingredients, claiming that the cultivation ethos in Japan is "quality over quantity," and their meticulous approach, highly sensitive taste buds, and the fertile volcanic soil around Yufuin had a great deal to do with that. Regardless, I give him the highest of marks for creating flavors that bring out the best that Oita Prefecture has to offer and is reason alone to stay at Enowa. Meals are served in the restaurant, although we opted to pay a hefty surcharge for the privilege of dining in one of the two private rooms (we enjoy private interactions with our servers during meals.) However, the tables in the main restaurant are spaced out quite a bit, and the high lounge chairs enable a high degree of privacy. Rather than go through the gory details on the food, I'll let some photos do the explaining:
Enowa Yufuin Hilltop Sky Pavilion A, Yufudake View (Room #1)
Enowa Yufuin Hilltop Sky Pavilion A, Yufudake View (Room #1)
Enowa Yufuin Hilltop Sky Pavilion A, Yufudake View (Room #1)
Enowa Yufuin Hilltop Sky Pavilion A, Yufudake View (Room #1)
The rest of the Enowa experience was very nice but not as mind-blowing. As a new property, one would expect everything to be fresh, clean and amenity-filled, and for the most part, it was. We were puzzled at the choice of toilets, however... it was a lower-end Toto model that didn't have a sensor that allowed the seat to automatically raise and lower, nor did the control panel have buttons that allowed the user to do it manually. We also noticed the bidet nozzle was filthy - we notified the manager about this, and he vowed to train his housekeeping staff to clean the bathrooms more vigorously in the future. The room aesthetic was ultra modern, which was fine given the young age of Enowa. Our 165mē "Hilltop Sky Pavilion A, Yufudake View" Villa was one of the two top rooms, with a panoramic view of the valley below and both an Onsen and pool on the deck. The villa had vaulted ceilings, two sinks, heated floors in both the living area and bathroom, a real closet, electronic blinds and an array of bathroom amenities, eachof them travel sized and individually packaged. On top of that, the down comforter was very light, fluffy and warm. One nit to pick had to do with the room description - yes, we were able to see Mt. Yufudake, but only if we stepped out onto the deck and turned 90 degrees to the left; given that Yufudake is located on the far end of the valley, and the room was looking towards the other side of the valley, I definitely would not market the room as having a Yufudake view. I noticed that most of the other rooms did not offer views or a pool, by the way. Still, even the entry level accommodations have 78mē of space, and all rooms offer Onsen baths. I suggest members of this forum to step up to the second highest category room (one of the Villas) for a true, Suite type layout that is a generous 108mē in size.
Enowa Yufuin Hilltop Sky Pavilion A, Yufudake View (Room #1) - Onsen & Pool
Enowa Yufuin Hilltop Sky Pavilion A, Yufudake View (Room #1) - Onsen & Pool
Service was polite and professional, but in no way did it remind us of the proactive, intimate and enthusiastic service experience we had at Sanso Murata. We had to call the front desk for the same request several times, for instance, and it took at least 15 minutes buggy drivers to show up each time we requested a ride. The assistant manager (the GM was on leave during the time we stayed at Enowa) seems to be trying hard, but even he appeared to be a bit on the inexperienced side from what I can gather. On the plus side, the towels were refreshed several times a day, including while we were at dinner.
If you're into great cuisine that is mainly vegetable-based, it doesn't get any better than Enowa Yufuin and Satoyama Jujo. I'd give a slight nod to Enowa, but be aware that they're quite different - Tashi's cuisine is mainly based on farmed produce, whereas Keiko Kuwakino gets many of her ingredients from the mountains in Northern Japan, meaning she serves a relatively higher concentration of foraged fungi, ferns and root-based plants. And the resulting dishes reflect the difference, making each of them uniquely different. Yes, service is not as refined as many luxury properties with longer histories, but the modern and spacious rooms, in-room Onsen and the view of the valley all contributed to an overall satisfying stay.