Call 01306 744 656 or
Call 01306 744 656 or
The best places to stay nourish your body and your soul, and that’s certainly the case at Biyu no Yado…
The best places to stay nourish your body and your soul, and that’s certainly the case at Biyu no Yado in the hot-spring mountain resort of Yudanaka Onsen. It’s a traditional-style ryokan, set in a comfortable modern building, with a reputation for its excellent Japanese breakfasts and kaiseki dinners plus a host of indoor and outdoor pools filled with natural hot-spring mineral water that’s supposed to have all sorts of health benefits.
It’s on the road leading up from the station, so you get spectacular views of the surrounding mountain scenery, but if you want to explore a bit further it’s a little over a mile on foot to the entrance of Jigokudani Yaen Koen, where you can see the famous ‘snow monkeys’ wallowing in their own thermal pool – the only macaques in the world that behave like this. It’s definitely worth the trip, and you don’t even have to walk there if you don’t want to as the hotel will drop you off and pick you up. That said, if you do decide to stretch your legs, your evening soak in one of the two outdoor pools followed by a multi-course meal of exquisite seasonal, regional dishes will be all the more satisfying.
Seasoned Far East traveller Malcolm Holcroft is fascinated by Japan’s distinctive culture, its full-on neon-lit megacities and its less intense corners. Among the latter, he fell for Nara, the history-laden former capital where ancient temples and shrines are dotted around a deer park – and where they make some of the best sake in the country.
Your journey will start with one of our UK team – someone like Richard, who's travelled extensively in Japan. They’ll shape your ideas into the trip of a lifetime. But they won't do it alone. They'll draw on the expertise of our contacts on the ground, connecting you to the people who'll make your holiday one you'll always remember - the tea devotee who'll introduce you to the ceremony surrounding Japan's national drink, the noodle guru who'll teach you how to make the perfect bowl of soba and the ryokan owner who'll tutor you in the relaxing art of the onsen.
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