๐ Hotel Details
Ryokan Azumaya (ใใฅใพใ) is a hot spring inn established by a founder who was originally a priest during the mid-Edo period. It is an old establishment located near "Kumano Hongu," part of the UNESCO World Heritage site "Kumano Kodo." It has been praised by the famous French writer Andrรฉ Malraux as "the best inn in Japan." Since its founding in the Edo period, it has been a well-known ryokan representing Wakayama Prefecture.
The ryokan features traditional Japanese architecture with a total of 22 guest rooms, each showcasing unique design details. There are also special rooms equipped with open-air hot springs. Inside the charming, antique-style pure Japanese building, in addition to four special rooms like "Maki" and "Ogasawara," which have private baths, the other rooms are spacious and comfortable Japanese-style rooms.
The hot springs here come from "Yunomine Onsen," one of Japan's oldest hot springs. In addition to the "Maki Bath," which emits the fragrance of Japanese pine, and the "Open-Air Bath" designed by a master specializing in Japanese gardens, there is also the 100% natural hot spring "Samashi-yu (ใใพใๆนฏ)," which comes from a source with a temperature of 90 degrees and is naturally cooled without adding water. Guests can enjoy a variety of hot springs. Additionally, there is a rare "hot spring steam bath" found even in Japan, where the high-temperature steam from Yunomine Onsen is introduced into a sauna steam room, said to be effective for sore throats when inhaled directly.
The ryokan's dinner is also quite famous. It offers a hot spring shabu-shabu made with Kumano beef, a dish that can only be enjoyed in the Kumano region. For breakfast, guests can enjoy specialty dishes like hot spring porridge and hot spring tofu, which are unique to famous hot spring towns.
