Wineshark Nice Hotel Experience - Mozumo (Hirayu Onsen)

This ryokan is located in Hirayu Onsen, Takayama. Driving through the snow-infested mountain ranges would be a bit dangerous during the winter times so please ensure you have installed the snow tires beforehand. We came after visiting the Shinhotaka Ropeway, with the weather turning a bit chilly and snow started falling in early Dec.

The entrance to the ryokan is a bit easy to miss, with only a small wooden post showing the name Mozumo (in Japanese). Fortunately the staff came out (despite the cold) to greet us when we arrived, and she also helped take our luggage after we parked. Walking down a path I got a good sense that this ryokan is quiet and valued the privacy of customers.

On the day it was fairly quiet and I think we are one of the two guests visiting. After a brief registration at the lobby, we were shown our room  水楢, the room located at the end with the most privacy. It was a really nice traditional Japanese setting, with a spacious anteroom where we would have our dinner and breakfast, a bedroom which is comfortable and cozy, a bathroom with our own hotspring which got lots of windows and when opened, looking out into the trees and snow. We were really impressed and pleased with the setup.

Before dinner we went to the public bath to experience. After walking to the other end of the ryokan, we went to an outdoor path to a changing room, which unfortunately was somehow without any light. The outdoor bath was a circular rock constructed bath which is not particularly large, but because there was no light in the changing room we decided to just bath in our room instead. It was a bit of a waste as we would have the whole public bath all by ourselves on the day.

The dinner started at 6pm, with the staff helping to setup with a lot of delicious local produce. We started off with the appetizers of two Hida beef sushi, stewed abalone skewer with shrimp and ginkgo, some local vegetables, fish cake and tofu. The quality of the food is phenomenal and I got the great feeling that this meal would be a memorable and really impressive one already.

The second course was soft cod roe with ginger and spring onion. The cod roe was very soft and melting in your mouth, without any fishy taste. Accompanying the ginger and spring onion it provided an extra dimension of freshness which makes the dish really enjoyable.

Next was the sashimi with Shima Aji, Japanese Seabream and Peony Shrimp. These are some of the best sashimi with the Shima Aji being one of the best I have ever tasted, very fresh and tasty, and the seabream and shrimp also very good. This again demonstrated how Mozumo took its cuisine in a serious manner.

Then we had the grilled A5 Hida beef with some mushroom and onion. The beef was of the right fat level, as I frankly did not enjoy too much fat in the beef. Unlike the bad experience I had in my stay in another ryokan, the staff in Mozumo told us how to grill the beef probably to enjoy, providing us with a good dining experience for this signature dish in the locale and we all enjoyed it so much.

The next was seasonal vegetable stewed with clam, featuring yam, mitaka mushroom and yuzu. The clam was very fresh and sweet, and paired well with the vegetable to bring an overall delicate and refined taste to the dish.

Then we had the grilled with the famous seabream, scallops and small taro. The seabream was simply perfect, having a nice texture for the fish while the grill bringing out the flavors which is so fantastic. The scallops is nice too. However, I would say the taro was a surprise as I am not particularly fond of taro but this one got a great taste and texture for me to keep asking for more (if I could).

Next we had the pot-cooked rice with miso soup, pickles and turnip roll. The roll was wrapped with a thin slice of turnip, and the pickles were also very good. But again the quality of the rice blew me away. I have not tried to cook rice in this traditional small pot before, but the way the staff prepared that and the skills required to make this right was mind-blowing. The rice was so good that I could have easily finished three bowls of them.

Dessert was a apple sorbet which got a nice cleansing effect for us, providing some acidity and sweetness which balanced beautifully, and having a lightness making us feel overall fulfilled but without any sense of over-eating. A really impressive menu and arrangement. One of the best meal in my experience!

After a good sleep the next morning we had another wonderful breakfast. It was equally impressive as the dinner the night before and we all enjoyed it so much.

I particularly liked the miso paste that was warmed on top of a leaf, which I think is one of the signature Hida delicacies. The miso paste is a really great condiment for the rice, and with that it would be easy for anyone to finish their breakfast without any other meat or fish to supplement.

Throughout our stay the ryokan gave me a good sense of peacefulness and quiet, and we did not even see another face throughout, giving us the sense that we had booked the whole ryokan for ourselves. The price was very reasonable at 55,000 yen for two. A really high value for money choice and I strongly recommend to anyone who would be going to Takayama.

My overall rating was 7.5/10.