Day 5 Part 2: Shiroganeya

After a wonderful day in Kanazawa, we arrived back at Kaga Onsen where we met by a driver from the Hoshino Shiroganeya Ryokan in Yamashiro Onsen.  I usually don’t say a lot about the drive from the train station to the Ryokans that we are staying at, but this time I feel I must.  Our driver was, in a word, awesome.  From the moment he started the van and the soft and soothing music began to play, I immediately began to feel relaxed and the long day of walking in Kanazawa became a distant memory.  To complement the music, he gave us a very nice tour of Yamashiro Onsen and highlighted some scenic points of interest in the area all the while answering our questions quickly and politely and in a calm and almost hypnotic voice that only served to add to enhance the ride.  By the time we reached Shiroganeya, my wife and I were already impressed by our experience with their staff and we hadn’t even walked through the door yet.

Shiroganeya is located in a quaint little section of Yamashiro Onsen, which almost has the feel of a small village.  The exterior of the Ryokan is quite beautiful and this impressiveness extends as you walk through the front door.  We were led to a small, elevated seating area in the center of the lobby (away from the reception desk) where we were served hot tea and checked-in.  As were being escorted to our room, we were shown around the main floor which included a small coffee bar area that was adjacent to the seating area where we just checked in, and a sliding glass door that opened out onto a nice Japanese garden.  There is Wifi service and free coffee in the lobby area.  We were also shown the entrances to the communal hot spring baths.

Our room was on the top floor and was absolutely great.  It was a very large room that was well divided into separate area by the traditional Japanese sliding paper doors, called Shoji Screens.  Our bedroom was a very good size and contained two large beds that were fitted with soft Japanese cotton sheets and they were extremely comfortable.  The main living area was a room with tatami mats on which were two Japanese chairs with a small round table, there was a flat screen TV as well as a closet that contained our Yukatas and a small safe for us to keep our valuables.  Large Shoji Screens were in front of our very large windows, and as they were slid aside we could enjoy a great view of area as well as the temple that was just to our left.  Next to this room was another set of sliding doors that opened onto an elevated area which contained a 2^nd seating are with a small bar area against the far wall where we could prepare tea.  What was really special about this room was the feature that we alone had access to at Shiroganeya and was located on our roof top balcony.  Our room was equipped with the only private open-air hot spring in the entire Ryokan.

Through the glass doors there was a round cedar tub that was filled to the rim with steaming, 40 degree Celsius hot spring water.  The tub was secreted behind tall bamboo fencing to provide privacy, but being on the top floor of our Ryokan also meant that the bamboo fencing did not need to be that high and we were also able to enjoy limited views from the balcony.  With my wife choosing to go downstairs to the communal hot springs, I quickly took advantage of this quiet time to sit back and indulge in the peace and serenity of having the apartment and the private open-air bathe all to myself.  It was a little piece of heaven.

Once my wife returned, we made our way down to the main dining hall to enjoy our multi-course Kaiseki dinner.  The dining hall is laid out very well; there is a main area in the middle with private dining rooms located on the surrounding perimeter.  Our room was located at the far end of the room and allowed us to have excellent privacy while also being able to enjoy the energy in the rest of the room.  Our server for the evening was an extremely nice gentleman who was meticulous in the way that he took care of our every need and had an excellent ability to anticipate those needs.

 

We quickly settled in for a wondrous meal.  The entire meal consisted of 10 courses which were primarily crab (7 of them) but there was a beef course that consisted of Noto Beef which is a special brand of beef from this region which we cooked it on a grill right at our table, and it was absolutely succulent.  The crab dishes ranged from grilled crab legs, sashimi crab, stewed, and deep fried.  One special crab dish, that was very unique, was a course that was carried to our table in which the crab was wrapped in rope and had been steamed.  Our waiter removed the rope and the crab inside was absolutely amazing.

 

 

Once again, we had a fabulous Kaiseki dinner and were more than ready for a good nights sleep as returned to our room.  We watched a little TV and enjoyed a drink while we talked about our day.  Sleep came very easily and was assisted by the excellent beds in our room.