Located in the heart of Hita city in Oita prefecture, Ryokan Sanyokan Hina-no-Sato offers you the traditional ryokan experience with views of the Mikuma River. In addition, this ryokan also has hot springs (onsen) and a special offer for a dinner cruise along this river, ideally located on the shoreside. Read on to hear about my complete experience in this luxury ryokan!
The Hotel Sanyokan Hina-no-Sato
Ryokan Sanyokan Hina-no-Sato is a few minutes’ walk from the Mikuma River and 10 minutes from JR Hita Station. The hotel is spacious, boasting 44 rooms. The ground floor has a terrace that lets you enjoy the scenery of the Mikuma River. Perfect for exploring the city!
The Room in this Ryokan
The room I had was very large. With low furniture and traditional futon bedding on a tatami floor. I was also able to enjoy the exceptional view of the river from this room! Before my dinner cruise, I enjoyed relaxing in the room while admiring the view! All the rooms are equipped with air conditioning, a TV, and a toilet. On the other hand, there was no private bathroom in my room, but I could bathe in the common baths, which also overlooked the river!
The Bath
The ryokan has private baths in some rooms and of course, there are public baths separated by gender, which had a magnificent view of the river. There is always a front room for undressing, equipped with wicker baskets for guests to leave their belongings in. After undressing, I headed into the washroom, sat on the stool, washed with soap, and rinsed well with the hand shower. Then, it was time to go to the hot tub, in these bathes the water was 44 degrees, hot enough to relax and enjoy the view!
Dinner Cruise at Hita
Finally, it was dinner time! We waited at the bottom of the hotel at a specific time. Then we took a Japanese boat named Yakatabune. Mikuma River is very peaceful and calm. Here, it often gets very hot in the summer, so taking a cruise is the ideal way to get away from the heat, and freshen up.
The traditional boat, Yakatabune is about 10 meters long, and its weight is about 1 ton. As soon as you arrive, you have to take off your shoes because the inside is covered with tatami. The ryokan offers traditional cuisine with locally produced products such as grilled beef steak … delicious! Everything was very good. In addition to wagyu beef, there are plenty of delicious meals: miso soup, pickles, rice, sashimi, grilled ayu river fish, steamed pork… The cruise was a wonderful experience, and we were very lucky to enjoy the sunset-viewing boat ride that evening!
Around the end of dinner (note: this is a limited chance only from May to October), we were able to watch the cormorant fishing. Fishermen let cormorants dive underwater to catch fish. Cormorant fishing is a 400-year-old tradition here. This practice was recorded as an intangible cultural property of Oita Prefecture.
Breakfast in this Ryokan
Dinner (when there are no dinner cruises) and breakfast will be served in a large room equipped with several small cubicles. The cubicles allow a bit of privacy as if you were in a restaurant. Breakfast is served as a buffet. A multitude of Japanese and Western dishes are available!
Useful Information about Ryokan Sanyokan Hina-no-Sato
You can check more information on its official website. If you have already decided to book a room, click here to make a reservation. For dinner cruise service, you can contact the ryokan directly here.
Sponsored by Tourism Oita
Translated by: Aika Ikeda
