Ota – Yamashinobu

Kurokawa is a lot less touristy than Yufuin so there isn’t much by way of a town centre although the attraction here is a ryokan pass which allows buyers to soak from ryokan to ryokan. Not quite my scene but there are hard core soakers who don’t mind disrobing layers of layers of clothes in the dead of winter to experience the medicinal benefits of the different onsens. This clever idea concocted by the ryokan owners created the local onsen industry in Kurokawa.

Scenic drives

En route up Mount Aso

The drive from Yufuin to Kurokawa is a short one and allows time for a detour to Mount Aso, where you can enjoy picturesque views from about 1000 meters high. If you can see beyond the clouds that is! Bad weather meant we passed on the ropeway since any further elevation didn’t mean increased visibility. Plus, it was just biting cold. Ok, so not the best season to travel..

Katsu Curry

But enroute was where I had my best Katsu curry experience ever where we made the proprietress read the specials out. This standalone eatery in the middle of Aso city was worth the drive in itself.

Welcome drink - tea and red been mochi

So we beat a hasty retreat to our ryokan for the night.

Yamashinobu is a little more rustic than our ryokan in Yufuin but had its own little charm about it.  It is technically not in Kurokawa but the larger Minamioguni-machi town (within the neighboring onsen area called Ota) and only a 5 minute drive from the center of Kurokawa. There was even a wood fire burning in one of the rooms where folks can gather round to get warm over hot sake.

Dinner here was Kaiseki style, with starters presented in lovely lacquer boxes.

Basashi

Horse meat sashimi or Basashi (a specialty of the Kumamoto prefecture) is on offer here. Unlike beef, horse is a little more sinewy so you have to chew a little longer for the flavors to come through since it is a little more subtle in taste.

Sukiyaki

We did have sukiyaki again although the beef here was a little less marbled and therefore required a little more chew than in Yufuin. Still good though.

Chicken soup for the soul

But my favorite was the chicken soup with home made (ryokan made) chicken balls. The clear consommé belied a flavor that was rich with all the goodness of what a chicken stock should taste like and was just downright comfort food, especially since I had been sick from the beginning of the trip, and still sniffling as I wrote this.

Soba

And the soba, another specialty of the region, so al dente and full of flavor from the very appetizing grated radish that was laced with Yuzu, garlic and a little chili. Wow.

Tomato custard

Dessert was an unusual tomato custard. It sounds a little funky but actually works probably because the local tomatoes have a distinct sweetness to them that does not leave that tomato fishy finish we expect.

While this was not the best ryokan dinner I’ve had, it is memorable for the effective use of local ingredients and produce and a creative menu that was filling yet un-heavy.

Riceball service

So hospitality includes a riceball service at 9pm lest you go hungry at night.

A true champ's breakfast

Breakfast here was more traditional and included a much fuller meal.

Assorted pickles

The highlights were the array of pickles on offer so we were a little surprised this wasn't at dinner since in our experience, the best pickles usually came with dinner. Notwithstanding, all good and we were all set to hit the road back to Fukuoka, but not without stopping at the Tosu premium outlets first!

5960 Manganji
Minamioguni-machi
Aso-gun
Kumamoto Prefecture 869-2402
Japan

Yufuin – Yawaraginosato Yadoya

Yufuin

It’s a little touristy but Japan touristy can be good especially for us city folk. It’s not crawling with foreigners yet but the main drag on Yufuin is really only about a 30 minute walk end to end. Like many other small towns, the area’s produce like milk, honey, senbei and pickles are on offer. Shopkeepers dish out samples too so you never go hungry.

Blue mountain

Aside from browsing the stores and sampling the wares, it is relaxing to just sit and have coffee at one of the lovely cafes.

Yasai Coffee

There was one which is a couple of doors from B-Speak that roasts its own beans and does it quite well too.

B-Speak Roll (original flavor)

And have the renowned B-Speak roll, which despite its fluffy lightness, is full of an aromatic fragrance combining egg and vanilla, and of course bound together by the freshest cream ever. So light I can eat this all day..

Kinrinko Lake

I didn't really get the excitement about the lake at the end of the strip but I suppose there is something mystical about watching vapor over the lake akin to something out of a scene from the Lord of the Rings.

Entrance at our ryokan

But like most onsen towns, the real attraction is checking into a ryokan and enjoying the hotspring and food.

Beef - just admire the marbling

Sukiyaki was on offer for dinner and Kyushu is considered beef country too, with Oita prefecture and neighboring Saga known for supreme quality bovine not unlike Kobe.

Starters

Even our server ignored the starters and just promptly started to cook all of our beef just as we put in our orders for Sake. A little too hasty for me since I enjoy the nice-and-slow but we probably looked like we were starving after a relaxing soak in the outdoor spring area, which you can reserve privately for 50 minutes. There are public baths in the ryokan too which you can access anytime without reservation but these are indoor, so you don’t have the benefit of cold crisp air on your face as the rest of your body is being cooked sous vide ( I kid!).

Soaking and eating are the benefits of checking into a ryokan. But it’s pretty regimented in terms of a routine, so you have a small window to eat dinner and a smaller window to eat breakfast, as the service ends by 9am. Check out is at 10am so if you snooze, you lose. Literally.

Breakfast

But breakfast is hearty so it’s well worth getting up for even if this ryokan isn’t the most traditional, offering up a half buffet which has juice and coffee. Most other places just have freshly brewed green tea as traditionalists would only allow.

A full stomach later (again) and we were off on our merry way. Next stop: Kurokawa.

Yawaraginosato Yadoya
2717-5 Yufuincho Kawakami
Yufu
Oita Prefecture 879-5102
Japan

B-Speak
3040-2, Kawakami
Yufuin-cho
Yufu City
Oita 879-5102

Yasai Coffee
*can't locate English address but it's literally a couple of shops down from B-Speak

Kobe - Arima Onsen Hotel Kinzan 欽山

It was ominous the day we arrived.  The freak typhoon that would claim 4 lives in Japan this spring was upon us.  Ok, great.  No Mount Rokko, no sightseeing.  I was thinking - this was the divine intervention forcing me to relax.  Stuck in a ryokan, there is nothing to do except soak in the onsen, eat like an emperor, watch the rain pelt down on the bamboo garden. Very Zen....

Bento Lunch

All this internalizing while I eat my humble bento box lunch.  I was expecting a plastic boxed lunch to go.  I was happy to be wrong.  Promising start already.

Fresh brew of green tea and sweets of red bean jello and soda crackers

As we settle into our room, and discovering the unexpected joy of wi-fi in a ryokan (albeit an unsteady signal), tea is served.  This is the life.  Fresh cuppa with Japanese traditional sweets of a red bean jello and soda crackers (Tansan Senbei) made with water from the region that is high is carbon dioxide.  It's probably more accurate to refer to them as wafers given their texture.  Quite addictive, they now add a variety of flavor offerings, including ginger, sesame and seaweed.  It's also become more international with brands like Kobe's Fugetsudo offering chocolate, strawberry and vanilla also.  All this while the aroma of tea leaves seethe over the heat of tea lights, giving off a scent that's pleasantly soothing and not at all intrusive.

Source of the Carbonated Water

The Arima onsen town isn't big and you can just about cover the essentials in a matter of the better part of a day.  But like all onsen towns, and Arima is the oldest of them all, they are pretty in a traditional Japanese sort of way and it's great to soak in the relaxed atmosphere of old businesses still plying the trade in the same shop their families have been in for generations, from making soda wafers to making pickles or other foodie goodies.

Temple in Arima onsen town

Of course, if you like temples, every town has at least one significant one where you can clap your hands and say a prayer or catch a sip of holy water, all for good luck.

View of hotel's bamboo and koi garden

But mostly, we like the sanctuary of the ryokan and of course soaking in its onsen (hot spring) where clear and "rust" colored waters have their respective healing properties.  It's just relaxing to soak before a big meal.  Might be psychological or I'm just plain greedy but I swear that a 10 minute soak does wonders in opening up the appetite.

Dining in a ryokan is almost always Kaiseki style, a traditionally multi-course dinner in Japan, and designed to balance the body's various nutritional needs.  The Kaiseki way of dining is likely originally from Kyoto, since that is the old capital.  Kinzan's solitary Michelin star does not let it down and the food is impeccable and extremely low in oil and salt, allowing the natural flavors of the fresh local produce to come through.

Starters

And of course, presentation is plain pretty.

Agedashi bamboo in a shrimp and sea cucumber broth

And innovative combinations so simple yet so flavorful.  This dish of a lightly battered Agedashi bamboo (seasonal) in a shrimp and sea cucumber broth is naturally sweet that I could not help but lick the bowl clean.  Good thing we dine in the privacy of our own room.

Assorted Pickles with rice

Even the pickles are of the highest quality with a focus on preserving taste rather than just killing the vegetable with an overdose of salt.

Since we were staying 2 nights, we chose a different menu for the second night.  And since we were in the Kobe area, it would be wrong to leave without having the city's world renowned beef.

Sliced Kobe beef for Sukiyaki

So we were treated to a Kaiseki meal focusing on beef sukiyaki the second night.  And this has to be one of the best beef experiences my entire life.  So marbled, so soft, so tender, yet so full of beefy flavor.  The way beef was meant to be eaten.

The biggest difference between a resort and a ryokan is the latter's focus on meals and the set times at which meals must be served.  One cannot just show up and eat.  There is a preparation process which entails precise time keeping.  So there is a set time for tea, dinner and of course breakfast.

A full-on traditional Japanese breakfast

But if this is what you can get to tuck into every morning, the regimen isn't so bad.  So if you can endure disciplined relaxation with perfect Japanese hospitality, check into a ryokan and your tired body may be forever grateful.

1302-4 Arima-cho, Kita-ku, Kobe, 

Hyogo 651-1401

Japan

Tel: +81-78-904-0701