Kai Atami is under the famous Hoshino Resorts Group, located at the hills overlooking Atami, the renown resort-town in Shizuoka Prefecture. We drove from Tokyo Narita Airport and took us around 2.5 hours to get there, so even though it might not be exactly close but still a good spot if you want to have a detour from Tokyo during your holiday.
About the hotspring first. Izusan Onsen is one of the three historic onsen in Japan, reputed to have healing properties, and was frequented by many generals in the old days. The name of the source 'Running Water' came from the fact the spring water floats from the source and went all the way to pour into the sea, as if the water 'ran'. There are 114 sources pumping out 170 litres of spring water every minute.
The ryokan has two buildings, with the main building having 16 Japanese-style rooms overlooking the Sagami Bay, and an annex building Villa del Sol offering a western-style setting, also looking out into the sea. The annex building was originally a villa in Oiso and it took the owner eight years to relocate to the current place, repairing it such that it can offer a traditional atmosphere but having comfortable and modern facilities to customers.
On the day we arrived the first impression was really good, with the okami dressed not in traditional kimono but in western-style suits, but they are greeting us with the traditional courtesy. While our luggage is being taken to our room, we were shown to the library to complete the registration, and being served with green tea and sweet snacks.
We were then shown to our room. I have booked the special room on the top floor of the building, with a total of 32 tatami mats, a huge room that comprises of three rooms and able to serve seven members of a family. The theme of the 14-mat main room is Plum which is the city flower of Atami, which is evident from the calligraphy, decoration and setting in the main room. Even the decorations on the paper sliding panels are of plum design.
Opening the panels there is a breathtaking view, with a wide window spanning the whole length of the room overlooking the Sagami Bay, and because the weather was fantastic on the day, it is very relaxing to just sit on the chair and gazing at the sea, daydreaming or simply doing nothing. Of course, the massage chair also provides another great option for one to relax further.
The next room is of 10-mat in size, a big room by itself on any standard. However, there is also a third room of 8-mat size which has a western-style bed so for those who don't want to sleep on tatami it offers an nice alternative. All the rooms are very comfortable, neat and tidy, with warm lighting, spacious and ideal for family vacation.
The bathroom is nice also, with premium amenities using herbal ingredients available for visitors. My only suggestion would be to add another basin as it certainly got the space for that. However, there is separate basin in the two toilets, so it did consider the potentially larger group of visitors who would be using the room. The bath tub is made of fine cypress wood, giving a nice fragrance when one is bathing. The window also provides the same great view to the Sagami Bay so one can enjoy the scenery while relaxing in the bath.
After settling down we went for a walk around the ryokan before going to the public bath to experience. As the building is on the hill, the two public baths are in fact located further down the slope, so we have to walk down a flight of steps to reach them. It was quite a long climb and so for those who are weak on their legs it could prove challenging. Along the way we saw a big tree of more than 350 years old that was embedded into the wall. This demonstrated another philosophy of the owner in trying to preserve the surroundings and respecting the environment, taking the means to build the corridor around the trees and minimizing the need to cut many of them.
I went to the open-air bath Takinomi Taki, which is designed by the famous architect Kengo Kuma, the designer responsible for the main stadium for Tokyo Olympics 2020. It is a nice bath with spectacular views to the Sagami Bay. On the day it was about 5-7 deg Celsius so it was a bit cold when I took the shower before bathing, since the shower area is also open-air. But all in all it was a great experience (particularly since there is only two people bathing including myself).
After rejoining my wife who also finished her bathing, we went to the 'Qinghai' terrace which is a platform kind of like floating out to the sea, taking in the view of the sea, enjoying the nice sea breeze and basking in the afternoon sun while relaxing on the sofa. Kai Atami also has a wonderful service in providing a plum wine sampling there, with four different plum wines to taste and also some freshly grilled sweet potato as snacks. We had a great time before heading back to our room for dinner.
Dinner is served inside the room, and Kai Atami has very helpfully translated the menu into Chinese for us, enabling us to have a much better idea on what we have for the meal. At the same time, the staff serving us did his best to explain each dish also. The appetizer is Salmon Roe with Conch cooked with Tea. It is delicate, light and refreshing, with some yuzu added to bring in acidity and finesse.
Next is the eight plates, with a Crab Meat Chrysanthemum Roll, Dried Persimmon stuffed with Foie Gras, Soy Bean Curd with Miso, Shiitake and Komatsuna, Smoked Duck with Apple Skewer, Fried Salmon Coated with Almond, Yam Stem with Plum Sauce, and Eggplant Soup with Fish Roe. The wide assortment of different ingredients and taste simply is a treat to heaven, and you can also see some western cooking elements, a nice demonstration of a subtle fusion style from the chef.
The third dish is the bowl with Crab Stick and Deep-fried Turnip Cake in Pumpkin Soup. Frankly it is a big surprise they have turnip cake which I believed is a Southern China local delicacies. The soup is rich with intense flavors, and the turnip cake provided a crispy skin while fits amazing well with the crab and soup taste. Another great fusion dish in my opinion.
The fourth dish is the sashimi, with Horse Mackerel, Spiny Lobster, Cutlass Fish, Greater Amberjack, Red Snapper, Red Sea Bream and Bigfin Reef Squid. There are different condiments to accompany the different sashimi, all pairing to perfection to highlight the taste of the seafood. And also Kai Atami had took the extra step in preparing a diagram to show us the types of fish we are eating. The fish are all so fresh and tasty, and the variety is the most that I have in one Kaiseki.
Then it is the deep-fried dish with Vegetable Tempura, an interesting and tasty Vegetable Wrapping a Scallops Mash. The scallops mash is again another thing I have never tried before, and this dish certainly provided an intense flavor and one of my dishes I like very much on the night in fact.
The sixth dish is the Steamed Crab Meat Dumpling with Three-Flavor Sauce. The dumpling is chewy but not tough, while having a good filling which is tasty. The sauce has wasabi, seaweed and some crispy pieces which I am not sure what that is.
The main dish is served in a cast iron pot, with a whole Alfonsino and some clams boiled in a stock. This is certainly a phenomenal dish and my favorite on the night, with the fish very tasty and fresh, offering intense flavors which are further enhanced by the clams. The Alfonsino is a premium deep-water fish which is now best in the season. When served there is a large amount of spring onion and leek added which provided further fragrance to the dish.
Then there is the rice with pickles and miso soup, which is nice and fulfilling. For dessert I had chosen the Plum Jam with Penna Cotta, which is delicious and because during registration I told the ryokan that we were celebrating our wedding anniversary they did provide a small chocolate plate to congratulate us for the anniversary, certainly a warm and nice touch!
After dinner we went to see the show arranged by the ryokan, originally thinking there would be a geisha, but turning out to be a cultural show which taught us how to play the game of fan throwing which I thought was a game common in the old times for the rich people. The host invited a few of the guests to come up and play, and it was fun. We didn't stay very long before retreating back to our room however.
On the following day before breakfast I went to the other public bath (the baths alternate so both the male and female bath could be experienced). With only myself throughout, the time I spent in the indoor bath is really smoothing, and of course the nice setting and comfortable environment certainly contributed to the wonderful experience.
The breakfast is again a wonderful meal, with different varieties of food, and we had a great time enjoying the food as well as the nice chat from the staff serving the meal. It's a really great food and service in my experience so far.
The cost of the ryokan is on the high side at 107,800 yen for the stay, but I think it did worth the amount, considering the facilities, food, services and the amount of things the ryokan undertaken to immerse us in the culture. If you are going to Atami then it is a ryokan I strongly recommend.
My overall score if 8.8/10.
The decoration is decent but not particularly memorable, and we decided to try the signature kaiseki set from the chef. The first is the three apetitzers, with crab meat and tofu, boiled vegetable and the grilled dried blowfish filet. The plating and the utensils used are very nice and similar to what we would experience in many good ryokan in Japan, and the food are delicious and setting us off with a great start.
The next came a special pot-soup, which is clear soup boiled with fresh seafood, and served using a teapot and consumed by a teacup. The soup is very delicate, yet full of flavors and extremely delicious. And the way it is served certainly is an innovative, putting a twist to the traditions but preserving the elegance of the Japanese cuisine and true to the kaiseki spirit.
The third was the sashimi which got very fresh fish including seabream, salmon, tuna, scallops, prawns and sea urchins. All the seafood are imported daily and giving a sweet and fresh taste, with a touch of wasabi added and dipping lightly in the soy sauce further brought out the umami flavors. A really great quality sashimi in any standard but only the choice of seafood is a bit common for me.
Then came the steamed egg with black truffle sprinkles, added with some vegetables chopped finely. Served in a non-traditional western-style plate and decorated also in a western manner, this dish on the palate is nevertheless of pure Japanese style, with creamy and soft egg enhanced in flavors by the truffle, with a bit of bite coming from the vegetables. Another example of how the chef successfully integrated the fusion aspects into the kaiseki.
The fifth dish is the Lobster Tempura, with a whole lobster used so the portion is very generous. The lobster is deep-fried perfectly, without getting dried up and the batter thinly applied. There is no oily feeling at all and the lobster meat was tender as well. There is the vinegar sauce which can be added with turnip mash, plus the green tea powder which is something unique but did pair quite well. Another great dish in the evening.
Next is the hotpot which got fresh vegetables and the fresh Kinki filet. The fish is a premium species that is difficult to catch, and once outside the water it would die, thus is a rare and high-end ingredient only available in the most premium restaurants. Really great to be served using a hotpot, with the nice stock bringing the original fish taste to the forefront, and the vegetable further enhanced the sweetness of the fish. It is also filling, making us extremely full after finishing the whole pot.
To finish there is the cold udon which is dipped into a sauce, and you can add the quail egg, sesame, spring onion, wasabi and ginger per your liking. The texture of the udon is good, chewy and have a good bite, but by now we were already so full that it had affected our overall enjoyment of the dish, which is a bit wasted unfortunately.
The dessert is melon, plus mochi, red bean soup and persimmon. The different dessert are all traditional, nicely made and a good wrap up on the wonderful dinner we had this evening.
