Shonai Hotel Suiden Terrasse Reopens With New Sauna Area

08.May.2021 | SPOT

Shonai Hotel Suiden Terrasse reopened on April 29 after refurbishments to install a new sauna. The hotel, located in Yamagata Prefecture, is known for being situated atop rice paddies. Along with the sauna, it has also introduced a new spa program and healthy new menu made using organic vegetables grown by the hotel company itself.

 

An authentic Finnish-style sauna

The sauna is based on the Finnish-style löyly sauna, fully equipped with an authentic kiuas sauna stove inside which sauna stones are placed to heat up the room. Hinoki scented water is also used in the sauna.

 

The Sauna Features


Men’s Sauna

The male sauna features hexagonal designs on the seats, ceiling windows, and bath. The seats can be moved around freely so guests can decide how high they wish to sit for optimal heat customisation. The sauna rooms overlook the rice paddies outside, and there’s open-air baths outdoors too so guests can feel at one with nature.

 

Women’s Sauna

The women’s sauna is also a löyly type but uses raised benches instead of chairs. After sweating it out, guests can head to one of the outdoor baths and enjoy the view and sky.

 

There’s also a bar where guests can order local beers, sake, and wine, as well as fruit juice and ice cream. While relaxing, they can pick out from one of the 1,000 books available.

As well as fitness and massage services, morning yoga will begin this June. The MOON TERRASSE restaurant is also introducing new healthy dishes and drinks made with organic local ingredients.

RELATED ENTRIES

  • Hoshinoya Tokyo to Offer New Year’s Kabuki Plan Inspired by Edo Period Theater Teahouse

    08.January.2023 | SPOT

    Hoshinoya Tokyo, a traditional ryokan in Otemachi, has announced the New Year’s Kabuki Plan, a two-day, one-night stay from January 5 until January 7, 2023. During the Edo Period, citizens enjoyed watching Kabuki plays during the New Year’s holidays, often sipping tea at connected teahouses. This event will invite visitors to experience what this was like, complete with traditional food and decorations.   Watching Kabuki was a chic way for those in Edo to ring in the new year. Theater teahouses were also a popular gathering place–along with arranging tickets, the teahouses offered plot notes, tea, sweets, boxed lunches, snacks, and other drinks.**Hiroshi Fujita, Yoshihide Tomizawa (2012) / The Updated Kabuki Dictionary, Kashiwa Shobo  

    Relax Before Enjoying Tea and a Play

    Guests are invited to relax in the Ochanoma (Living Room) Lounge, decorated to look like a traditional teahouse with fans, ukiyo-e prints, and formal curtains. Hanabiramochi, or rice cakes with flower petals, will be served with green tea. These rice cakes are said to date back to the New Year’s tradition of eating hard foods like daikon and rice cakes in the hopes of prolonging one’s life. Characterized by its curious burdock root aroma, the cakes are sweetened with white miso bean paste. 

    Enjoy a Post-Viewing Mont Blanc Shaped like Soba with Sweet Dessert Wine

    At theater teahouses in the Edo period, sake, snacks, and desserts were served one after another. During this special event, a menu inspired by this practice and prepared by Hoshinoya Tokyo Executive Chef Noriyuki Hamada will be served! Soba noodles were often served after a play in the past. Inspired by this tradition, Mont Blanc made with chestnut paste and sponge cake will be served up to look like this popular dish. Paired with a dessert wine aged in oak barrels, the sweet will be served in a traditional lacquerware basket. In addition, the dish will be paired with Wasabi Pralines, Shichimi Meringue, and Ginger Pate de Fruits. 

    Take a Rickshaw to the Kabuki-za Theater

    Guests will be taken on an Edo-style tour on their way to the Kabuki-za Theater. Passing through the Nihonbashi area, the first stop will be the Fukutoku Shrine. It’s said that Hidetada Tokugawa paid a visit to and praised the shrine on New Year’s Day in 1614. The next shrine on the docket, Hodo Inari Jinja, was enshrined in Edo Castle during the Edo period to protect the heir to the Tokugawa family. It’s said that the shrine provides blessings for child rearing, matchmaking, and business prosperity. 

    This tour will provide a more elegant way to explore Tokyo as guests enjoy exposition from their chauffeur. To make the rickshaw ride even more enjoyable, guests can rent kimonos for an extra charge.

    Would you like to take a step back in time this New Year?
  • Anime ‘The Vampire Dies in No Time’ Inspires Concept Room in Shin-Yokohama

    06.September.2022 | ANIME&GAME / SPOT

    Shin Yokohama Prince Hotel will be offering a special room and collaboration menu inspired by the popular anime series The Vampire Dies in No Time from September 22 until November 30, 2022. Reservations will open on the hotel’s official website starting September 12 at 1:00 PM. The Vampire Dies in No Time follows the hilarious adventures of the vampire Draluc and the vampire hunter Ronaldo. Set in the city of Shin-Yokohama, it makes sense that this collaboration would be taking place!   Original Goods   Collaboration MenuGuests and fans of the series will be able to enjoy a fully-decorated room and collaboration menu inspired by characters from the popular anime series.   The concept room, located on an upper floor overlooking the Shin-Yokohama cityscape, is decorated with illustrations of Draluc, Ronaldo, and other characters. The guest-only goods feature newly-drawn illustrations.    Sweets plates and drinks will be served at the restaurant on the top floor of the hotel. Guests can enjoy desserts shaped like Ronaldo’s red hat and Draluc’s ashes, so don’t miss it!   ©盆ノ木至(秋田書店)/製作委員会すぐ死ぬ
  • HOTEL SHE, KYOTO Invites Guests to Stay in a Gallery for a Limited Time

    05.September.2022 | FASHION / SPOT

    Art subscription service Casie is collaborating with HOTEL SHE, KYOTO! A special art exhibition titled GALLERY HOTEL SHE, will be held from September 17 until October 16, inviting guests to enjoy the once-in-a-lifetime experience of staying in a gallery overnight!During the event period, guests of HOTEL SHE, KYOTO will be able to select their favorite piece of artwork from an on-site gallery. The piece will then be hung in their guestroom, and visitors can spend the night appreciating it at their own pace. This is a great way to learn more about art appreciation, and guests can enjoy discussing the art world with their friends and family.  “Although we may view art in museums and other venues, it is rare to have the opportunity to select and display a work of art of our own choice,” the project description reads. “Through this unique experience, we aim to provide guests the chance to actively engage with art and inspire them to make art a part of their daily life going forward.”
  • Pokemon GO Holds Special Drone Show in Akagawa, Yamagata Prefecture

    25.August.2022 | ANIME&GAME / SPOT

    To celebrate six years of Pokemon Go, an incredible drone show was held during the Akagawa Fireworks 2022 presentation in Yamagata Prefecture on August 20, 2022.    The presentation sought to get audiences excited for summer fun, with the phrase “let’s go on an adventure this summer” appearing in the air above the huge audience of 40,000. The Pokemon GO logo and popular Pokemon were recreated by around 700 drones.Music from the mobile game played during the impressive show, as Pikachu and a 100-meter-tall Charizard moved across the sky. Alolan Exeggutor, Gengar, Wailord, and Rayquaza also appeared, creating a night to remember for Pokemon fans in the town of Tsuruoka.    Pokemon GO Special Drone Show at Otaru Ushio Matsuri
    The show itself was a surprise for the audience, with applause and excitement instantly palpable as it began. After the drone presentation concluded, the Akagawa Fireworks display began.   The Pokemon GO Special Drone Show was first held at the 56th Otaru Ushio Matsuri in Otaru, Hokkaido on July 24. Watch it in full above!   ©2022 Niantic, Inc. ©2022 Pokémon. ©1995-2022 Nintendo/Creatures Inc. /GAME FREAK inc. ポケモン・Pokémon は任天堂・クリーチャーズ・ゲームフリークの登録商標です。 
  • Toshio Suzuki Studio Ghibli Exhibition Inspires Limited-Time Hotel Suite

    02.July.2022 | MOVIE / SPOT

    The Grand Prince Hotel Takanawa in Tokyo will offer a special suite inspired by the upcoming Toshio Suzuki Studio Ghibli Exhibition from July 1 until August 31, 2022. This will include tickets to the exhibition, which will take place at Warehouse Terrada in Shinagawa from July 1 until September 7.    Toshio Suzuki, a producer at Studio Ghibli, has worked with both Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata on a number of beloved masterpieces. The exhibition will feature a large bookshelf housing 8,800 of Suzuki’s publications and favorite tomes. Many of these were published before Suzuki joined Studio Ghibli, and guests are invited to see how the producer was inspired to join the legendary studio after working as an editor at a manga magazine. To commemorate the exhibition’s opening, this special suite is filled with books written by Suzuki along with other books that visitors may enjoy during their relaxing stay.    In the suite, guests will find a list of 106 books that influenced Suzuki the most. This list will be available to take home. Visitors will also find reproductions of Suzuki’s calligraphy. ©TS ©Studio Ghibli  
  • Banyan Tree Group Opens Garrya Nijo Castle Kyoto Hotel

    26.June.2022 | SPOT

    Banyan Tree Group, one of the world's leading independent hospitality groups, held the grand opening of Galleria Nijo Castle Kyoto, on Friday, June 17, 2022. This is the first of the group’s hotels to open in Japan.  

    Hotel Exterior

      Located south of Nijo Castle, a World Heritage Site, and named after the beautiful winter flower, Galleria Nijo Castle Kyoto is a small, modern, and minimalist luxury hotel that offers simple guests a chance to recharge themselves.

    Wellbeing Room

      For the grand opening, a new Wellbeing Room has been opened where visitors can experience quiet meditation.   Visitors can stroll through nearby gardens, temples, and shrines, take a tour of Kyoto’s many historical sites, or spend time in the Wellbeing Room meditating or practicing yoga to recharge their batteries away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life.   The French Restaurant Singular will also offer up healthy and tasty meals with a focus on local ingredients and producers. Enjoy a visit to Kyoto in this peaceful space perfect for resting both body and soul.