Miyazu, in northern Kyoto, is home to a great many attractions — beginning with Amanohashidate, one of Japan’s three most celebrated views.
If you are coming all this way, why not stay a night or two rather than making it a day trip, and see the area properly?
This article introduces one of our favourite places to stay: Amanohashidate Rikyu Hoshino-Oto.
True to the word rikyu — an imperial retreat — Hoshino-Oto is a resort villa that reaches the highest level in all three of food, hot springs and rooms.
If you are looking for somewhere special for a trip with someone who matters to you, for an anniversary or a birthday — or if you simply care a great deal about what you eat while travelling — this one is worth your attention.
About Hoshino-Oto
Hoshino-Oto takes just seven groups a day, and every villa comes with a private pool and two kinds of natural hot spring. Some villas offer a heated pool, so night swimming is not limited to summer.
The villas look out over a sweeping ocean view, close enough to the water that you can hear the waves.
But the single greatest draw here may be the food.
At Kanon, the restaurant on the property, first-rate chefs build creative dishes around the abundant produce and seafood of the Amanohashidate area.
Every villa also has two different hot springs, so you can soak at your own pace in complete privacy — hard to beat if you love an onsen.
Guests must be of junior-high-school age or older, which makes this a good choice if you want unhurried, adult time.
[All-Inclusive] A Welcome Sweet and a Moment to Exhale
Arrange it in advance and there is a shuttle service from the airport or from Amanohashidate Station. If you are not driving, book it before you arrive.
At check-in, make use of the all-inclusive service, free for guests from 15:00 until 11:00 the following morning.
What is on offer changes through the day. Start with a glass of sparkling wine and something sweet, and let the journey settle.
[Rooms] Interiors That Capture the Beauty of Amanohashidate
There are seven villas, in three types.
Each is named for something in the beauty of Amanohashidate: Ten (sky), Sei (star), On (sound), Migiwa (water’s edge), Umi (sea), Sai (colour) and Nagisa (shore).
Inside, the furniture comes from some of the best-known Northern European names — Fritz Hansen and BoConcept from Denmark, Vitra from Germany, BUTE from Scotland — for a refined, considered feel.
The contrast between the Japanese architecture and the contemporary furniture is genuinely lovely, which makes this a rewarding stay if you care about interiors or design.
The private pools in Ten, Sei and On can be switched to heated pools.※
Bring a swimsuit you like.
※Heated pool available 1 April – 30 November. 38,720 yen (tax included).
[Villa types at Hoshino-Oto]
| Villas | Capacity | Size | Layout | Hot springs | Other | |
| Special Suite | 1 | 1–3 guests | 120 m² | 1LDK | Kin-onsen & gin-onsen | Heated pool |
| Premium | 2 | 1–3 guests | 120 m² | 1LDK | Kin-onsen & gin-onsen | Heated pool available (extra charge) |
| Standard | 4 | 1–3 guests | 120 m² | 1LDK | Kin-onsen & gin-onsen | Heated pool available (extra charge) |
[In-Room Onsen] Two Rare Hot Springs, All to Yourself
Every villa has an open-air bath fed by the kin-onsen (gold spring) and an indoor bath fed by the gin-onsen (silver spring).
The kin-onsen is unusual in Japan: its salinity matches that of seawater, and it is high in iron. It runs clear and turns a reddish brown on contact with the air — a strange thing to watch. The faint scent of iron and the soft feel on the skin work the travel out of you.
The gin-onsen, by contrast, is rich in metasilicic acid, a natural moisturiser. It is colourless, with a distinctly silky texture.
The two baths are next to each other, so move between them and feel the difference.
Soak long enough to lose track of time and the accumulated tiredness and stress simply drains away.
If your idea of a trip is built around the bath, this will not disappoint.
| [Kin-onsen] Spring type: sodium chloride, strong salt spring Indications: neuralgia, muscle pain, joint pain, frozen shoulder, motor paralysis, joint stiffness, bruises, sprains, chronic digestive complaints, haemorrhoids, poor circulation, recovery after illness, fatigue [Gin-onsen] Spring type: weakly alkaline simple spring Indications: osteoarthritis, lower back pain, neuralgia, frozen shoulder, sprains, poor circulation, peripheral circulatory disorders, reduced gastrointestinal function, mild hypertension, impaired glucose tolerance (diabetes), mild high cholesterol, mild asthma or emphysema, haemorrhoid pain, autonomic nervous instability |
[Dinner] Creative Cuisine at Kanon, the On-Site Restaurant
Amanohashidate is known as the Sea of Kyoto, and the fishing ports nearby land a great deal of very fresh seafood.
Meat and vegetables raised on the water and rich nature of the surrounding mountains are excellent too. The raw material here is simply of a high standard.
Hoshino-Oto builds creative dishes designed to draw the most out of those ingredients.
There are three courses to choose from: Basic, which treats the character of each ingredient artistically; Light Basic, for those who would rather try many things in smaller portions; and Sosaku Kaiseki Kiwami, the top of the range and a genuinely new experience.
In winter there is also a limited-season crab plan built around Taiza crab — often called the phantom crab — and other premium local brand crab. People say that once you have eaten it no other crab measures up, and the sweetness and depth of flavour really are startling.
It suits a birthday, an anniversary, any turning point worth marking. Choose the course that fits the occasion.
Let them know when you book and they can adjust dishes for allergies or for vegetarian guests. Enjoy Miyazu cooking you will not find anywhere else.
Your Evening, Your Way — Stay Up Late with the Baths and a Drink
Check-out is a relaxed 11:00, so feel free to stay up and make the most of the night.
Between 19:00 and 22:00 the all-inclusive service at the front desk becomes a mini bar, with house-made fruit liqueurs and wine alongside shochu and sake from Kyoto, and whisky.
A drink in hand under a sky full of stars makes for the kind of warm, unhurried atmosphere where things you never quite get round to saying somehow get said.
Trying the kin-onsen and the gin-onsen one after the other, and feeling the difference, is a fine way to end the evening too.
After good food and a long soak, sleep comes easily on beds from Simmons and Tempur.
Amanohashidate Rikyu Hoshino-Oto
Address: 2686 Hioki, Miyazu, Kyoto
Tel: 0772-27-1101 (9:00–18:00)
Mail: yoyaku@hoshino-oto.jp
Web: https://www.hoshino-oto.jp/
In Closing
This article looked at Amanohashidate Rikyu Hoshino-Oto, the finest place to stay in the Amanohashidate area.
It is the sort of place people describe as somewhere to stay once in a lifetime, and the obvious choice when you want to spend proper time with someone who matters. If you are looking at the upper end of the market, put it on your list.
The article below introduces other recommended places to stay around Amanohashidate, if you would like to compare.
