Hotel Yagi stands in Awara Onsen, the hot spring town in Fukui Prefecture. A member of staff came out to the entrance to greet us the moment we arrived. Handing over one of our bags, we walked on into a spacious lobby where a great many books were neatly arranged on the shelves. Picture books were especially prominent, and the selection suggested a high standard of service for children. Check-in was at 3 p.m., and we were invited to help ourselves at the drink bar while we waited.
The books, lined up with their heights matched, were a pleasure to look at. Families waiting in the lobby alongside us let their children choose books, and the children were thrilled by the variety on the shelves. One family after another arrived; many of the guests seemed to be families.
The garden, and a welcome sweet
The courtyard’s landscape garden was well tended and soothing to travel-weary eyes. After a little while with a cold drink, check-in began, one party at a time. We were served a handmade peach daifuku, a soft rice cake with a sweet filling, along with green tea.
The route from the main building to the large baths and the dining area is generous with space and pleasant to walk through. Through great expanses of glass we could see the garden, and the neatly pruned greenery was refreshing. The interior makes extensive use of wood, so it feels warm and clean at the same time.
An enormous room
When we reached the room, the futons had already been laid out. We were told this is so that staff do not need to come in and out of the room, and it is very helpful if you want to rest for a while after arriving. With this many rooms, having the bedding laid out from the start causes no shortage of space.
Sliding open the fusuma, the paper-covered doors, we found a sewing kit. It was a thoughtful touch, anticipating the small mishaps of a trip.
The next room was a calm space with a simple sofa and a television.
The sofa was comfortable, but one thing caught our eye: the rug. Imagining how many guests must have walked on it barefoot, its faded colors made us a little hesitant. We felt the beautiful grain of the wooden floor would have been quite enough on its own.
Behind the far door, a neatly arranged tea set, okaki rice crackers and a one-liter bottle of water were waiting. Water is, surprisingly, one of the things you need most when traveling. Some places provide drinking water in generous quantities, but it is safer to bring your own just in case. A complete set laid out in a traditional tea box has its own charm, but there is also a small pleasure in opening a cupboard and finding everything beautifully arranged.
The private open-air bath
The large pane of glass is what makes the room’s open-air bath look so impressive, so it would be even better if it were treated with an anti-fog coating, letting guests enjoy the fine view of the garden. The bath itself is right there the moment you slide open the inner door.
The spacious open-air bath set our hearts racing. There is a proper washing area with shampoo and soap, and it was so thoroughly cleaned that we could walk barefoot without a thought of dust. For a bath attached to a room, it is lavish and generously sized.
Further in there is yet another room, a relaxing space with windows that let in plenty of daylight. Overall, it is a very large guest room. The gaps and frames of the shoji paper screens had been cleaned too, so no dust rose when we slid them open and shut, which we especially appreciated.
There is an indoor bath as well, so larger groups and families can make the most of the in-room bathing. Seen from the room’s entrance, the layout feels almost like a separate annexe.
The large baths
The large baths are spacious and easy to find, and there was a notice for a photo contest. Hotel Yagi, we learned, puts a great deal of effort into making its dinners and desserts photogenic. Initiatives like this, which gauge guests’ impressions and satisfaction, really let a property’s originality show.
When the hot spring water needs to be warmed or cooled, it is adjusted with more hot spring water, a luxurious approach. There is an outdoor bath and a sauna, with drinking water in the fridge and aroma oils for löyly, the Finnish practice of pouring water on the sauna stones: thoughtful service in the small details. On leaving the bath, we were delighted to find ice lollies on offer. Little services like these make a guest’s leisure time all the richer.
A buffet with ambitions
Hotel Yagi aims to have the best buffet in Japan. Before dinner, remarkably, there is a session purely for taking photographs: guests who wish can photograph the food and desserts laid out shortly before service. This is a novel idea. It is very hard to capture a buffet dessert in its original form, so this makes eye-catching photos possible. Guests enjoy contests and posting on social media, and the hotel gains publicity: an idea with benefits on both sides.
The mamezara, tiny plates each labeled with a detailed name, ranged widely, from abalone and mousses to snacks to go with drinks. They were charming starters that kept drawing the eye, and each was prepared with care as a dish in its own right; we wanted to try every one.
The fresh corner held sashimi, the local speciality Echizen soba, and an array of condiments and pickles.
The sushi is not made in batches and left out; it is made on the spot so that guests can eat it freshly prepared. The toppings, each carefully labeled with its origin, were large and bold. Once dinner started, however, there was some lag between the number of guests and the speed at which sushi was served, and we heard people saying they had not managed to get any. Then again, scrambling toward the sushi is hardly graceful. It is not that it cannot be had, but you may need to be prepared to wait patiently.
It is easy to be distracted by the sweets, but there was also an abundance of fruit: the local watermelon and melon, along with large grapes and kiwi fruit. A buffet with this many kinds of well-known regional fruit is surely very rare. Because the ryokan puts so much passion into its dessert buffet, groups of young women are one of its distinctive features.
Desserts by the pâtissier
From the welcome sweet at check-in to the sheer range of the buffet, the desserts are Hotel Yagi’s pride, billed as the work of its pâtissier. Colorful desserts lined a prettily decorated table. As soon as the photo session ends, they are taken away, then brought out again after the meal, a considerable amount of extra work.
What struck us here was that almost the same staff members handled everything from check-in to guiding us to dinner. We understand that the current staff shortages play a part, but we were impressed by how deftly they multitasked: remembering guests’ names and chatting with them, serving drinks and even changing the fresh flowers.
Alcohol was free, a welcome surprise, and there seemed to be local sake too, along with soft drinks of course. Even as the dining room filled with guests, everyone served us with a smile.
The dining area is built to look like a traditional restaurant from the outside. Surrounded by cool bamboo blinds and stepping stones, it has a calm and very comfortable atmosphere.
The buffet is lavish. Naturally the guests get excited, and everyone reaches for the food at once. The tables where the dishes are set out are a little compact, so serving yourself takes some patience. It also pays to enjoy a drink while waiting for the next dishes to come out; wait a little and there are moments when you can have them while still warm, so it is worth timing your visits.
Free sake, and sweets at night
After dinner, local sake and wine were offered free of charge in a large room overlooking the garden. That there was still more to enjoy for free at this point came as a real surprise.
This is a ryokan full of the spirit of service from start to finish. From around 8 p.m. there is yonayona okashi, “late-night sweets”, so guests can enjoy sweet things and the drink bar until just before bed. One guest had carried melon over to the sake corner and was enjoying it while gazing out at the garden in the rain.
The expression of an older male member of staff stayed with us: smiling at the children gathered for their late-night snacks while keeping the drink bar clean.
Breakfast, with more surprises
Around the lobby there is ample space and no shortage of bookshelves, spaces that make time with family or a partner worthwhile.
The next morning brought another astonishing buffet. Handmade dishes ranged from hotel-style breakfast fare to Japanese food, and the smell of freshly baked bread won everyone over. Most astonishing of all, a wide range of alcohol was available from the morning. Each dish was carefully plated.
The sweets on display even at breakfast finished us off completely. Imagining the work of preparation, cooking and sourcing behind it all, we took our hats off to the cooks and kitchen staff for their dedication to hospitality.
The selection was a little sparse, but there was sashimi and carpaccio too. Echizen oroshi soba, the local soba topped with grated daikon, had not been forgotten either, a pleasing sign of local pride. Set on the glossy wood grain of the counters, the dishes looked all the more colorful.
Final thoughts
The expansive building was kept very clean, and the staff devoted themselves wholeheartedly to looking after their guests. The thoughtful services aimed at children and families would surely suit a couple’s getaway just as well. A day at Hotel Yagi, with its surprises beginning at check-in and continuing late into the night, feels like one long party.
With a room bath and large baths to enjoy, and even a sauna, it is ideal for hot spring and sauna lovers. This is a ryokan where attentive care shows in every gesture.
This review reflects a visit in July 2023; please confirm current details, including buffet and free-drink arrangements, directly with Hotel Yagi before visiting.
