Originally Posted by
KI-NRT
Official website
From the same person that founded Zaborin (Shouya Gregg) comes Shiguchi, an ultra-luxury property with just 5 villas. Each accommodation is a carefully restored
kominka (old house), and is adorned with fine art made and/or acquired by artist and art collector Gregg himself.
Cuisine is French-Japanese fusion, using ingredients from Hokkaido (many of them foraged.)
In an interview in a Japanese publication, Gregg said that Shiguchi is the ryokan that he's always wanted to make. Not sure what that says about Zaborin, which is also high-end but which gets mixed reviews from Japanese travelers.
We're all set to visit Shiguchi in June, at the end of a trip that also includes stays at Lake Shikotsu Tsuruga Besso Ao no Za and Chalet Ivy Jozankei. Stay tuned.
We stayed at Shiguchi in November and found it to be an interesting experience. Felt the experience was somewhere between a hotel and ryokan to be honest, but great atmosphere and lovely collection of art in the main house. We were lucky enough to spend some time speaking to Shouya and he showed us around his impressive gallery / workspace underneath one of the guest room buildings which added a lot to the experience. He mentioned he's working on a big project in Kyoto - will be interesting to see when that's complete.
Service was above average. The food was fine but felt a little forced at times. You should ask to dine in one of the private rooms which provide much better atmosphere and privacy. We were assigned to have dinner in the main "dining room" where we were checked in and it felt empty and the set up was strange. Breakfast the next morning was in a semi-private area next to the coffee bar in the back and it felt much better. I can see some groups using Shiguchi as a longer term accommodation during ski season and the rooms all have full kitchens.