Located a stone’s throw from popular Shimoda in Shizuoka prefecture, lying accessible along the route from Tokyo to Kyoto. Rendaiji is a quiet country town known for its onsen. We stayed in Japan one Christmas, and since I’m a wimp with the cold, I thought since we weren’t travelling overseas, we could at least spend some of the holidays at an onsen ryokan with some delicious traditional Japanese kaiseki, and a relaxing private onsen bath. In my research I discovered the luxurious onsen ryokan Seiryuso. It was the perfect way to spend Christmas Eve through to Boxing Day, and a wonderful alternative to the crowds that descend upon Hakone for an onsen ryokan stay during the holidays.

EXTRA TIP: One of the most popular times for Japanese to visit an onsen ryokan is during the New Year Period: Oshogatsu, where they traditionally return to their home town and spend quality time together. This is not a good time to stay at onsen ryokans, as the prices increase exponentially and rooms are booked out as soon as they become available. However if you are in Japan during Christmas and looking for somewhere nice to stay, go book an onsen ryokan stay! Christmas is not a holiday in Japan and is considering a normal working day so the rates are often the normal rate (unless it falls on a Friday/Saturday/Sunday)

We stayed in the Deluxe Japanese Room with a Private Onsen Open-Air Bath. This room, was one of the most spacious and tastefully decorated we had ever stayed at. Large, with two tatami rooms, and a wrapping viewing corridor with lounging seats, it was absolutely perfect to wile away two nights of relaxation.

Due to our type of room, our traditional kaiseki Japanese meals were served within the room which to me is always the ultimate onsen ryokan experience! I believe Deluxe & Suite Rooms, meals are served in the room, whilst other room types you go to the restaurant.

As you can see from the photos, there are two tatami rooms, your dining table is set up in the empty tatami room (above: bottom right photo for your reference) for your meals, whilst the main tatami room has the futons set up as you eat.

EXTRA TIP: We prefer futons at onsen ryokans, as generally if the room has western-style beds, it’s always large twin beds rather than a double/queen/king bed. In addition western-style rooms tend to be more expensive, so unless you have back issues - I would recommend always choosing a Japanese-style room. They are always a little bit cheaper and it’s just a more traditional experience.

The public and private onsens available at Seiryuso are an absolute delight, we tried them all but obviously loved our own private onsen bath and the onsen swimming pool the most!

The food at the onsen ryokans we visit is equally important as the onsens we relax in. The dining experience at Seiryuso DID NOT disappoint! Hubby and I still rave on about the food we ate at Seiryuso as one of our best onsen ryokan experiences. Below are photos of some of the delicacies we received for our dinners. High quality Japanese delicacies, like the ise-ebi (small lobster), awabi (abalone), kinmedai (golden red snapper).

When we stayed at Seiryuso, we didn’t actually realise we would be receiving in-room dining for our Kaiseki meals… and it was the icing on the cake. The quality of the food, and the quantity… my goodness…there were so many dishes. You’ll find as you read future blog posts, one of the most difficult things is actually making sure my husband is full ( he eats a ridiculous amount!). So when I write that my husband enjoyed it and was full, you can be rest assured there was enough food.

As dinner is served in the traditional way, one dish at a time, perfectly timed by the staff to magically appear with a new dish as you finish one - there’s no way to get a lovely flatlay photo (and honestly I’m too busy stuffing my face to bother!)

Only your breakfast is semi prepared to have a lot of the dishes ready on the table. As you scroll down you will see the flatlay of our two breakfast meals on the trip showcasing the beginning dishes.

MY PERSONAL THOUGHTS

FOOD

Superb! No words can describe how delicious all the food we ate at Seiryuso was. One of our favourite Ryokan meals of all time!

ONSEN

Amazing! To step out from your bathroom into your own private stone rotemburo surrounded by nature is so relaxing and rejuvenating. The bath can fit up to 4 people, and having the head rests is a lovely touch. Only note I would add is that because you’re in the country surrounded by nature, there were some interesting spiders making their webs in the corner of wooden roof. Also one night we came back to the rotemburo and the water was extremely hot!! It took us a while to realise there’s actually a thermostat in which you can adjust the temperature! I love hot baths, but even for me it was intense.

ROOM AMBIANCE

Perfect, the space was fabulous for a Japanese style room, and the simplistic, traditional tatami design was delightful. Having the wrapping corridor with its lounging chairs just added another dimension to the room

VENUE AMBIANCE

Seiryuso and its grounds are lovely. It really felt like a throwback to a different time era in Japan. The ryokan itself features a library, a massage chair area but honestly the onsen heated swiming pool is one of the best things I’ve seen in a ryokan.

SURROUNDING AREA

The surrounding area is beautiful, quiet countryside Japan. We only ventured out for a few walks to enjoy the fresh air, and see the changing colours of the season. Hubby is a rather restless individual, so it’s hard for him to stay indoors for 2 days straight. We wandered down to the main road, and discovered a large home/general goods store and a large nursery of plants and DIY wood projects, which was fun to wile away some time. The area is perfect just to relax and go for quiet walks, however if you have a family with young kids, perhaps you may want some activities closer by. However having the swimming pool is obviously a good option.

SEIRYUSO FACTS (at time of stay)

• COST: starting from ~35000JPY per person per night

• MEALS INCLUDED: Japanese or Western Breakfast (choose Japanese!) & Dinner

• CHECK IN/CHECK OUT TIME: 1400 / 1100

• PAYMENT: cash & credit card accepted

• ROOMS: 26 rooms
  6 different types of rooms, of which 3 types have private open-air/semi open-air baths as part of the room.

• ENGLISH SPEAKING STAFF: SOME AVAILABLE

• WEBSITE: https://www.seiryuso.co.jp/

• IG: @seiryuso_official