What an escape from the heat!
Here we introduce testimonials of some of the guests who have enjoyed a stay at Nippondaira Hotel. An American, P Jaeger runs his own consultancy and shares his thoughts about our hotel as below.
“The architecture of the building itself is striking. It has bold spans, lots of big open wide spaces, and unlike typical Japanese resorts and hotels, the spaces are not strictly divided or segmented into rigid little areas which each have their own purpose.
This gives the building a real feeling of freedom and makes the spaces very welcoming. There are many Japanese hotels, ryokans and resorts where you walk around the lobby and every corner is telling you what you have to do there. Even beautiful ryokans have a strong architectural guidance as to what each space is for: here is the irori, here is the welcoming area for guests, here is the place you must do this or that. Part of that is because the space itself is usually quite limited, especially in a ryokan in a crowded place like Oku-Yugawara. When you get to a more high-class ryokan in a place like Hakone, there is more overall space, but still the Japanese building custom is to have a specific purpose for each space. This makes many Japanese people feel comfortable, like they are being safely put into their own little box, but many foreigners (especially westerners) may get a restricted feeling. Nippondaira’s wide spaces and daringly large architectural spans let the heart relax first and then soar.
The rooms are perfectly laid out and could almost be too perfect – except for that massive window where the whole world stretches out in front of you! How breathtaking! With the exception of office skyscrapers, those windows are among the largest I’ve ever seen in Japan. The way the lawn below unfolds and then blends into the edge of Shimizu-ku, Shizuoka City, is dramatic.
The furniture in the room is also perfectly planned. Away from the window you have a bed and a desk and cabinets like any other hotel. But then in front of the window you have furniture which is reminiscent of a golf course clubhouse. The room seems to divide itself naturally about a meter away from the window into “inside” and “outside”. It’s a lovely feeling (unless you’re scared of heights) – you can open the balcony door, sit outside, let the air come into the room – or, you can shut it all away with the darkness curtains. And the balcony! WOW! That is a real killer. I have never seen such a wonderful balcony in any hotel in Japan.
The food is truly excellent. I opted for the Japanese breakfast. Each tiny dish was perfectly executed. It was the perfect combination of traditional and innovative, with very high quality ingredients. It was among the best Japanese breakfasts I’ve had in the price range. I had three additional servings of rice, one bowl of okayu, and an additional bowl of miso soup so I was full afterwards.
The garden, which appears to have been designed as a golf course and is maintained like one, is also quite striking. Very unusual to have so much open space in a Japanese leisure property. Again, strolling outside gives one a great feeling of freedom, exactly because there is nothing there to interfere. A few large volcanic rocks, a shady tree with a bench, and a slightly incongruous yellow path – all these features brought out the inner child in a large crowd of young Chinese honeymooners who were eventually just running around screaming and dancing! Still, it was big enough to accommodate even a boisterous group, and as night fell, the shadows and the glow of the city beyond brought an unfolding drama to the rolling fields.
The Upper Lounge is also quite nice. The bartender Yatsu-san says he and his staff chose all the spirits they serve, and they have a great collection. But most of all, you’re sitting at the top of the hotel, more than 25 meters off the ground, looking down at the lit-up city of Shizuoka beyond the bottom of the hill. With a wall of windows that stretches uninterruptedly the entire length of the lounge, you have a great 180-degree view.
Although it’s a 10-km drive from the station, I think it’s fair to say that the last half of the drive is on winding roads that go through some beautiful dense and rich forest. If you take this drive during the day, whether in the shuttle bus or the local city bus, it’s beautiful. In the fall when the leaves are changing it would be spectacular. Driving the road in one’s own car would be exhilarating (if you have a nice car and you like driving). So I think that even the road there, once you get out of Shizuoka, is a great feature of the hotel.
Finally I would have to say that the staff is without exception really kind, nice, and friendly. I struck up conversations with many of the staff – all were willing to chat, they were excited about the hotel and wanted to chat, and they wanted to connect with guests. Specific questions were taken seriously and answered diligently. Smiles and greetings were returned, and everyone showed a great balance of professionalism and country hospitality.”
