Japan is a world famous hot spring powerhouse. Kusatsu, Gero, Arima as well as Shirahama, Atami, Beppu...Convenience store magazines have famous hot springs where you can take a day trip from Tokyo or Kansai, bus tours that are cheap, and open-air baths offer superb views. There are almost always magazines featuring hot springs, such as popular hot spring inns that you can worship.
Recommended hot spring inns that don't get on the rankings of magazines.
In this article, I will introduce recommended luxury hot spring inns that are probably not listed in the rankings of such magazines. You can relax quietly, the food is delicious, and the service is perfect. Why does such a hot spring inn not appear in the ranking? Because that ryokan is not in Japan.
What was good about the hot spring inn traveling alone? I mean...
The luxury hot spring inn is the Beitou hot spring "Nissho Kagaya" in the suburbs of Taiwan. Originally famous as a hot spring town in Taiwan, Beitou Onsen was built by the famous Japanese inn, Wakura Onsen Kagaya, and built a Japanese-style luxury hot spring inn.
This time, I decided to stay at this luxury inn for one night. However, my selfish image was that I didn't have the idea of staying alone in an onsen ryokan. After all, the onsen ryokan suits families and couples instead of just one person. If I stayed alone, I might be seen by other customers and staff with curiosity... To be honest, I was also worried.
But when I actually experienced it, that idea changed a lot. One person hot spring inn is wonderful. It is a messy luxury. It costs a little money, but I definitely want to try it again! I really think. What was so good? I mean...
Merit 1: You can take a nap in a large room in a Japanese room with a fragrant Igusa
When I entered the room on the 9th floor where I could look down on Beitou Park in the front, the nostalgic scent of the tatami mat was irritating my nose.
Take a sip with a digging kotatsu in the middle of the room. Then Mr. Nakai greeted me with a towel and matcha. I'm really fluent in Japanese and just like Japanese hot spring inns. At Nissho Kagaya, all staff involved in customer service can speak Japanese. So, if you can't speak Chinese or English, there's no problem at all.
A brief rest time until dinner. It is good to take a walk in Beitou Park, or to take a hot spring. However, it's also recommended to just roll on the tatami mat and go to sleep. It's very quiet, and it's a good idea to stretch your body as much as you want without disturbing anyone while feeling the scent of Igusa and a slight back pain.
Advantage 2: Enjoy a luxurious meal at your own pace
Have you ever had the experience of being distracted by conversation and not remembering the taste of cooking? I was taken to a high-class restaurant after being entertained, but I couldn't enjoy cooking because I was so concentrated on my work... I was disappointed when I returned home.
Of course, if you travel alone, you won't regret it. At your favorite time, you can thoroughly taste and eat rice without being rushed by anyone. This is also an important time that can be called a luxury in today's world.
So, I reserved dinner at 19:3 and went to "Tensho" on the 2rd floor. Enjoy the kaiseki cuisine served by the Japanese chef, while looking out through the window at Beitou Park, which is a sparsely crowded area. When you finish eating, you can move to the bar on the second floor and have a chat with a Japanese bartender at night.
Advantage 3: Can you rent out a large public bath for free now?
One of the great attractions of traveling alone is that you can always go to the hot springs any number of times. Unfortunately, the public baths at Nissho Kagaya cannot be used in the middle of the night. Perhaps because the large bath is open during the daytime plan, maintenance may be performed at midnight. If you want to get up early in the morning and take a bath at the large communal bath, unfortunately you have to wait until 1 am.
But if you're out now, you can expect a great reward for getting up early and taking a bath in the morning. Perhaps Taiwanese don't have the culture of "onsen in the hot spring". There are no other guests in the public bath. That is,The large public bath is reserved.
If you are lucky, you can use the hot springs, whirlpools and saunas anytime you want from the morning! It may be (it depends on other customers, so of course we cannot guarantee 100%). I was in the public bath for about 7 hour until 1am, and no one else came in. You may want to come to Taiwan as soon as possible before the Taiwanese know the comfort of the morning bath.
By the way, if you really want to go to a hot spring in the middle of the night... At Nissho Kagaya, I also use a hot spring for my indoor bath (I didn't use it...). In Japanese hot spring inns, the indoor bath is usually ordinary hot water, but it's nice to be immersed in a hot spring in your room for 24 hours.
Postscript: The spring quality of the hot springs that you can enjoy at Nissho Kagaya is a weakly acidic sulfur salt spring called "Shirasui spring". It has a PH value of about 3 to 4 and has a slight scent of sulfur. It acts to soften the stratum corneum of the skin, improves blood circulation and makes the skin shiny, and is also effective for chronic joint pain, muscle pain, neuralgia, etc.
The biggest attraction of Taiwan Kagaya that can not be obtained at Japanese hot spring inns
You've read this far, and you're sure that you don't have to bother to leave Japan and go to Taiwan. Certainly, the original Kagaya is located on the Noto Peninsula, and Taiwan's Kagaya is, for better or worse, "the same as a Japanese luxury hot spring inn." If you expect something that is unique to Taiwan, you probably cannot meet that expectation.
However, the real merit of staying at a Japanese-style hot spring inn abroad is in another place. That is to be able to concentrate on being alone. In other words, you can shut out the noise that distracts you. This was actually a surprise for me...
It really refreshes my head!
If this is a hot spring inn in Japan, the staff of the inn can hear the conversation. Even unpleasant information such as customer complaints can be heard. If you turn on the TV, you can watch the usual news and variety programs... even at home, and is it worth spending valuable time on TV?
But in Taiwan, all conversations between staff and customers become environmental sounds. For example, when a person at the table next to me speaks out "Nozomi Sasaki..." at a restaurant, he never takes his ears.
So if you want to concentrate and do something on your own...think personal things, come up with new product or service ideas, or blog (laughs)...Kagaya Taiwan is the best environment Will give you.
When I'm tired of work, I just fall behind and lie down. Or wear a yukata for a leisurely walk in the hall, or use a warm hot spring. The surrounding area is a hot spring town unlike Western luxury hotels, so there is no noise in the noisy city. If you are hungry, you can eat hot spring eggs. Surrounded by forests, you can refresh yourself by bathing in negative ions. And in case of trouble, you can receive the same level of detailed service as in Japan. Isn't it the best environment to concentrate on work alone?
I hear that Naoya Shiga, who was said to be the “god of novels,” often stayed at a hot spring inn in Kinosaki and wrote it. Osamu Dazai and Yasunari Kawabata are Izu, Shimamura Fujimura is Hakone, Natsume Soseki is Ehime's Dogo Onsen... Other literary writers also stayed in quiet inns and villas for creative activities. Why do literary people do that all the time? I stayed at Kagaya, Taiwan this time and understood why.
The accommodation fee that you care about is 1 yuan for 2 days and 16,150 night with meals. I thought that the price was for one person at the time of booking, but it says that this includes the meal fee for two people. So, I had the second dinner for the second lunch. It is said that there are plans without meals and breakfast only.
Then it is the details of the inn.
Address:No. 236 Gwangmyeong Road, Beitou District, Taipei City
Phone number: 886-2-2891-1111
From Taipei Station, head north on the MRT Tamsui Line and transfer at Beitou Station to Shinbeitou Station. It takes about 5 minutes from Shin-beitou station. There is a charge, but there is also a transfer from the airport, so please contact the inn directly if necessary.
PS How about a little rich beef noodles while you are in Taipei?
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