Ishikawa Prefecture · Japan
Beniya Mukayu
A hillside inn of sixteen rooms where tea, herbs and hot water set the rhythm
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Beniya Mukayu occupies a hillside at Yamashiro Onsen in Kaga, an hour's drive south of Kanazawa and its famous Kenrokuen garden. The family opened the inn in 1928 on the site of a former temple compound, and the current generation has pared it back into something closer to a retreat than a hotel.
Sixteen rooms face the forest garden, and most have a private open-air bath fed by the Yamashiro springs. Three libraries are scattered through the building for guests who want to disappear with a book, and the Entei spa works with hot-spring water and local medicinal herbs. Mornings often begin with a tea ceremony conducted by the owner.
The area is a natural base for Japan's craft country: Kutani porcelain kilns, Yamanaka lacquer workshops and the gold-leaf ateliers of Kanazawa are all close. Dinner is a kaiseki menu built on Hokuriku seafood and mountain vegetables, served on the region's own ceramics.
At a glance
What to expect
- Private open-air hot-spring baths
- Entei spa and herbal treatments
- Morning tea ceremony
- Three guest libraries
- Kaiseki dinner included
- Forest garden setting
- Craft workshop excursions
- Kanazawa transfers
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