Hotel/Ryokan advice
 

I find myself with a few options, and can't decide:

Hyatt Regency Kyoto vs Ace Hotel Kyoto vs Gate Hotel -- I would be getting THC Amex credits for HR or Ace, but HR includes breakfast and is overall cheaper. I do collect Hyatt nights, but am not sure they will count booking through AmexTravel and in any case, that isn't a deciding factor. I am worried about the location though. Gate was recommended by a friend and is cheaper, but no Amex benefits.

Ryokan in Miyajima:
Kinsuikan vs Grand Hotel Arimoto -- the Arimoto looked less traditional to me, but again was recommended by a friend. I booked an open air onsen room at Kinsuikan, but still have time to change.

Thanks for any thoughts.

Hi,

Have not stayed at the hotels but location does not look too bad.
Here is a thread on the Hyatt Regency Kyoto ( with Dec 2024 photos)


Hyatt Regency Kyoto - REVIEW - MASTER THREAD - Page 84 - FlyerTalk Forums

Regards

TBS

>> Kinsuikan vs Grand Hotel Arimoto -- the Arimoto looked less traditional to me, but ...

Am mildly objecting to the "but". I would call both of them ryokan hotels. They both have J-style rooms with the elements of a traditional ryokan room (tokonoma, hiroen, tatami floors, zaisu and low table, futon for sleeping). Both have J/W-style rooms and at least one has a full-on W-style room (sofa, Western bed).

One photo of Kinsuikan had a perfect photo of a traditional ryokan room - except for the little sofa and recliner chair in the hiroen (veranda) where I would expect to see a small table and two chairs. That is "less traditional" which is not a knock. For this solo traveler the recliner looks like a nice feature. Being less traditional is not any kind of compromise, imo.

To choose, the cost and room amenities are important considerations, but I would be more interested in the meal options and the location. They will have a standard kaiseki dinner but likely have some more deluxe options/variations. I assume that they both would serve dinner in restaurant but maybe one will serve it in your room. I assume both would pick you up at the port but would be nice to have a shuttle to get around if the location is more remote.

Thanks -- I am not sure of Arimoto's various offerings. -- though I do believe they offer a ride from the port -- but the room I booked at Kinsuikan has in-room kaiseki that seems to be well-received. I don't think Kinsuikan offers the ride, but I also think they are very close to the port. The quality of the dinner is important to me, but most of the reviews I have found make me doubt that their criteria are the same as mine (many feel not enough Western options, for example).

>> doubt that their criteria are the same as mine (many feel not enough Western options, for example) inn.

Wow. I guess they didn't know what they were getting into. The one traditional thing to expect at a ryokan like that is a kaiseki dinner. Besides the need for lodging the fancy Japanese dinner is the main point.

IDK what your criteria are but hope it includes a variety of Japanese dishes. When I mentioned options, I really meant seafood or beef options. There, you can expect local (Miyajima or Hiroshima) oysters, Hiroshima, beef or fish from the Seto Nai Kai.

Kinsuikan has three options One is "fish", one is "meat", and one is something else. Don't really need to know - it all looks good. But if you click on the images then you can see the details for each.
Delicious Cuisine in Miyajima | Kinsuikan [Official Website]

Scroll down and find the Special Order Dishes. Yay!

We absolutely love Japanese food and seafood generally and opted for the in-room seafood kaiseki. I will also add the special order oysters. It's really 90% of the point for us. We will be doing some fine dining in Kyoto and Tokyo, so am hoping this can check the box on kaiseki so that we can explore other things. We definitely want to do an omakase dinner and a tempura dinner (and a ramen lunch and and and)

Out of interest - Could you elaborate on what you mean by the term omakase dinner?

Kaiseki also has variations! There are totally food enthusiasts here which could steer you towards ryokans with extremely strong cuisine and standalone kaiseki restaurants.

It's kind of amazing how some of the smaller ryokans managers/owners are also the (quite solid) chefs in addition to front staff and cleaning staff... Ryokan meals aren't always exclusively Japanese cuisine, either, so I think some travelers hoping for Western options should be looking for those types of Japanese inns which serve fusion or European cuisines. Some may be named Auberge operated as an upscale Western style inn ryokan equivalent with half board, usually without onsen.

Tip - And and and don't forget to eat more fiber! It's easy for traveler's diet to be low on fiber with kaiseki, sushi, ramen, curry, and etc. Hotel breakfasts can be easier to find salad, greens, and some fruits and then eat all the cabbage served to you (popular greens option). Convenience stores do usually have fiber nutritious side dishes in the refrigerated areas and some people like 7/11 make-on-spot green smoothie.

Omakase might mean omakase sushi. Western (social) media tends to use the word without knowing the definition like umami and omakase (chef's choice ... of whatever the cuisine is, not just sushi). So higher end seasonal set menu tempura can sort of be considered the chef's choice. I don't think I'd go to a high end/upscale sushi restaurant in Japan for the first time and start the visit by asking for specific fishes, either, other than stating any allergies. Some ask at the end if you'd like anything additional. Many Japanese restaurants in US use "set", "combo", or bento instead of teishoku, depending on whatever plating they use. I guess I'm not the only one whose wondered about how bento was reverse Engrish'd into Western language but not teishoku. The red and black multi compartment tray seems rather common in US Japanese restaurants.

We generally think of omakase as sushi, though I'm aware it can be broader than that.

I am just now in the process of picking out my restaurants in Tokyo and Kyoto (and possibly Osaka). If you have any information about a ryokan in Miyajima with better food than Kinsuikan, I'm all ears. My location isn't super flexible though. We already are so pressed for time in all of our destinations. I picked Miyajima for the ryokan location because I decided I wanted to see Miyajima more than Hakone, and doing the ryokan in Kyoto instead means yet another extra hotel, unless the pricing is extremely reasonable. I splurged for one night at Kinsuikan to get the in-room private open air onsen (along with an actual hot spring in the basement) and because the dinner and breakfast looked so good. (I just emailed them to add oysters to the dinner!)

If you are a Japan food enthusiast, I am open for recommendations! We focus on seafood, but eat almost everything else. I personally try to avoid main courses of beef and pork (though I sometimes make an exception for wagyu, and my son is very happy to make an exception for fancy beef). We aren't allergic/religious, so if there is a pork garnish or broth or whatever, that's fine by us. I just don't want a big piece of pork on my plate. As noted above, interested in udon/ramen/tempura/sushi/whatever we shouldn't miss.

Excellent point about fiber. It is easy to miss it on vacation wherever we go. We should be getting plenty of hotel breakfasts, so hopefully it will work out.

>> Ryokan meals aren't always exclusively Japanese cuisine
Am not too surprised at that and now wondering if some ryokans have Chinese version of kaiseki.

>> add the special order oysters
Good call.

I am not picky and will eat anything they serve and not knowing what something was even after I ate it. But I noticed that one of the menus had a dish with "abalone" and another with "live abalone". Am wondering if the latter is like what I saw on another ryokan menu: the abalone is served alive and cooking in front of you. That would be an appetite killer (or worse) for me.

I've been served live abalone on a sterno heated metal plate with small glass topped dome. It's only happened once at Furofushi in Aomori, though, so I'm curious where else it might be on the menu. If that puts someone off their appetite, perhaps also be aware that I've been shown small live fish at a high end tempura restaurant by the chef. The live fish is, ahem, cooked in front of the diner and then served at the counter seat in full view of the chef. I guess looking for such a place with slightly removed table seating would be a way to get around that.

OP - I think a ryokan in Miyajima is a good call. It's been a while since I visited but a walk outside after most day tourists departed was more tranquil and a nice contrast to urban Hiroshima. I'd also hope less pricey than Kyoto options. I personally feel Kyoto high end Japanese hospitality comes off very formal. I could be wrong about that since I personally don't get much value out of Kyoto ryokans - mostly no onsens, some of the famous historical places may have very formal service (or coasting on their old reputation), and normal Kyoto lodgings already priced at a premium.

ETA KI-NRT's great review of Kinsuikan's specialty room meals https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/34884511-post56.html If you haven't seen the luxury ryokan thread and have the budget, it's a great read and resource for people who enjoy high end lodgings and dining.

I don't think it'd fit into your current trip but I'd suggest future trips from Kanazawa to Toyama to seafood lovers and then perhaps another trip to Aomori's coastline and down the Tohoku coast. Kanazawa/Toyama region has more white fishes, firefly squid, and generally a different selection of fish compared to Tokyo. You can combine it with a visit to Shirakawa Go and the Alpen route during the warmer months or over towards Nagano. Aomori coast has several large fishing ports so even the casual sushi fish is a cut above (some very average city lodging options though, due to mostly fishing industry) and popping over to Hakodate in Hokkaido for even more seafood is a delicious itinerary. Aomori has some interesting festivals if you'd be interested in that.

That is ~what I saw in a video but IDR where.

Thank you so much -- I just came back to this and that review is amazing.