There are also fantastic illuminations reminiscent of the Galaxy Express.
The facilities and hospitality skillfully capture the "nostalgia" of Iwate.
INDEX
- The facilities and hospitality skillfully capture Iwate's nostalgia, including fantastical illuminations reminiscent of the Galaxy Railroad.
- Enjoy free-flowing hot spring water and in-room dining at "Shikisai" and the detached "Kaen"
- Folk songs, mochi pounding, nostalgic night stalls, the festival square is in full swing
The "Night Garden & Illumination" is held from November to January. The 340,000 lights, based on the theme of "Night on the Galactic Railroad", shine beautifully.
Adjacent to the dyeing hotel is a flower and garden covering an area of approximately 67,000m2. It is as large as the Tokyo Dome. Kazuyuki Ishihara, who designed it, has won a total of eight gold medals in different categories at the Chelsea Flower Show in the UK, the highest level of international gardening, and in 2016 won the highest award, the President's Award.
The lobby lounge has a three-story atrium and offers a view of the garden through wide windows. It also features a floating stage, a waterfall, a stream, and a pond with koi fish.
The facilities and hospitality skillfully capture Iwate's nostalgia, including fantastical illuminations reminiscent of the Galaxy Railroad.
Hotel Mori no Kaze Oushuku is located on a small hill in the lush green forest of Shizukuishi. It may resemble a Western castle, but you can relax and unwind in the warmth of the local area. The many charms of Iwate are skillfully arranged to make your stay a memorable one.
Facing the dyed-lacquer building is the 67,000m2 Flower & Garden, which features several gardens, including forest hills and forest valleys. It is supervised by world-renowned garden designer Kazuyuki Ishihara. The Night Garden & Illumination, held from November to early January, is themed on Miyazawa Kenji's "Night on the Galactic Railroad," and features fantastically sparkling light lines reminiscent of railroad tracks and spherical illuminations like planets floating in the galaxy. The stairs of the lobby lounge are decorated with cute dolls based on Miyazawa Kenji's "Kaze no Matasaburo" and "Acorns and Wildcats." The artist is Isao Segawa. The sliding doors in the banquet hall are painted by artist Seikan Goma, depicting Ishikawa Takuboku's deep affection for his hometown with his "Takuboku Kain Shiki Suibokuga." It is a large-scale work measuring 2.4m in height and 19m in length.
There are two baths, one for men and one for women, one in Western style and one in Japanese style. The one that everyone is fascinated by is the open-air bath with its dynamic view. While bathing in the soft hot spring water, you can look out over the Shizukuishi Basin, and the view that stretches out to Mt. Iwate and Mt. Himekami, about which Takuboku wrote, "I have nothing to say to the mountains of my hometown. I am grateful for the mountains of my hometown."
Enjoy the smooth hot spring water in the Shikisai ceramic open-air bath.
The "open-air bath in the sky" overlooks Mt. Iwate, also known as the Southern Fuji, Mt. Akita Komagatake, and Mt. Himekami under the vast sky. There are spacious Japanese and Western-style baths, semi-open-air baths, and saunas.
Enjoy free-flowing hot spring water and in-room dining at "Shikisai" and the detached "Kaen"
Oshuku Onsen, which first opened about 450 years ago, was once a therapeutic hot spring resort and is known for its abundant waters and skin-beautifying spring waters. The Shikisai guest rooms, each with an open-air bath that flows 100% from the source, give you the chance to have this famous spring all to yourself. There are a variety of room types available, including Japanese-style rooms, Japanese-style twin rooms with low-rise beds, Western-style twin and triple rooms, Japanese-Western rooms, and barrier-free rooms with electric reclining beds. The guest room baths come in two types: cypress and ceramic. Guests are also provided with exclusive Shikisai items, such as yukata, drawstring bags, and amenities.
"Shikisai" is a room with an open-air bath that can be chosen from six types depending on your style of accommodation. The photo shows a twin room.
For meals, you can enjoy a special Shikitei menu filled with the bounty of the sea and mountains grown in Iwate in a private room at the nostalgic Nanbu-style Japanese restaurant "Sansatei." For dinner, a specially selected creative kaiseki course meal using carefully selected local ingredients is served, and for breakfast, a "Shikisai Special Japanese Meal" is prepared.
Sansatei is a Japanese restaurant that reminds us of the Nanbu Magariya houses of Iwate, which no longer exist.
Enjoy a gourmet meal while enjoying the illuminations.
The perfect place for anniversaries or a stay with a loved one is the detached hotel "Kaen," which is surrounded by a garden overlooking Mt. Iwate, also known as the Southern Half of Fuji, and has a bath with natural hot spring water. There are three rooms: the VIP room "Jutaku" and the special rooms "Kosai," "Ataki," and "Kocho." The sukiya-style "Jutaku" is a Japanese-style room with 17 tatami mats and 6 tatami mats, while the three special rooms are Japanese-style rooms with 12.5 tatami mats and 6 tatami mats, creating a purely Japanese-style space where you can enjoy the ultimate time surrounded by tranquility. The true pleasure of natural hot spring water can be enjoyed in the indoor cypress bath and the open-air bath overlooking the ever-changing garden. As for meals, both dinner and breakfast are served in your room, the standard for hot spring inns. For dinner, you can enjoy the chef's proud "Kaen Special Kaiseki Meal" with both raised and set meals, without having to worry about the people around you.
The Sukiya-style VIP room "Jutsuru" can accommodate 5 people. It is equipped with 17-tatami and 6-tatami Japanese-style rooms, a Western-style room (twin), a reception room, and a private open-air bath.
The luxurious detached special room "Juen" comes with a bath that flows straight from the source. There are only three of these high-grade rooms.
The special room "Kaen" has an indoor cypress bath exclusively for use. There is also an open-air bath with a view of nature.
Folk songs, mochi pounding, nostalgic night stalls, the festival square is in full swing
Dinner for those staying in standard guest rooms is also a delicacy. Depending on the plan, you can enjoy a variety of dishes, including "creative kaiseki" or "creative washoku," where several different dishes are served in succession, "robata kaiseki" served around the Sansatei hearth, and "washokuzen," a meal featuring five different flavors. The dishes are based on the concept of "if we were to create a full-course Western meal in Japanese cuisine...," and value the seasons and ingredients. We hear that the head chef aims for an "ikken kaiseki" that allows you to enjoy each and every dish with excitement. This attitude is especially appreciated in an age when buffets are the norm. Breakfast is also full of freshly prepared dishes made with ingredients freshly picked in Shizukuishi.
The chef explores the possibilities of the ingredients to create a creative kaiseki meal that conveys the four seasons in each dish.
From 8pm, the sound of a calling drum reverberates across the second floor. More and more people gather at the Festival Square on the second floor. The event kicks off with a folk song and local entertainment show by one of Iwate's best folk singers. Under the lanterns, a row of nostalgic stalls, including food stalls, shooting galleries, and lotteries, are set up, reminiscent of a festival. The staff put their all into providing hospitality that both adults and children can enjoy. Next comes the mochi pounding, which customers can take part in. Even though they have just finished dinner, the pounded mochi is quickly disappearing. It's a performance full of smiles and full stomachs.
Shooting range in the festival square.
The next morning, be sure to take a stroll through one of the world's largest flower and gardens. While surrounded by colorful flowers, you can also get a glimpse of authentic British gardening techniques. The "Uguisu Forest" that leads to the flower and garden is a walking path that lets you experience the seasons of Shizukuishi. In summer, you can catch rock trout in the stream, and in autumn, you can pick mushrooms. You'll feel as if you're playing in the fields and mountains of your hometown.
Flower and gardens are a natural paradise.
More Information
| building | Main building: 10-story reinforced concrete building, Annex: 6-story reinforced concrete building, 1 detached building |
|---|---|
| Rooms | (Total 221 rooms) / 100 Japanese-style rooms, 98 Western-style rooms, 2 Japanese-Western style rooms, 21 with open-air baths |
| meal | Dinner: Creative Japanese cuisine, kaiseki cuisine, robatayaki, Breakfast: Japanese cuisine |
| Facilities | Baths: Large public bath, open-air bath, private bath, dry sauna (21 rooms with open-air baths, large public bath, open-air bath, private bath), banquet halls (6 rooms, 30-500 tatami mats), convention hall (280 people), restaurant (250 seats), private dining room (10 rooms, 52 seats), karaoke (7 rooms), noodle shop, tea lounge, shop, beauty salon |
| Fee | 17,600 yen to 103,400 yen (tax included, bathing tax not included) |
| Day trip bathing | 1,000 yen (tax included, 14:00-17:00) |
| Check-in and check-out | Check-in 15:00 Check-out 10:00 |
| Wifi | The whole building |
| Smoking and non-smoking | Some smoking rooms and designated smoking areas available |
| Hot spring quality | Alkaline simple spring (pH 8.8) |
Facility information / Access
| location | 10-64-1 Oushuku, Shizukuishi-cho, Iwate-gun, Iwate Prefecture, Japan 020-0574 |
|---|---|
| Railway | Get off at Morioka Station on the JR Tohoku Shinkansen line, then take a taxi for about 40 minutes |
| car | Approximately 25 minutes from Morioka IC on the Tohoku Expressway via National Route 46 |
| plane | From Iwate Hanamaki Airport, take the train to Morioka Station, get off at Morioka Station, and take a taxi for about 40 minutes. |
| parking | 200 passenger cars, 10 large cars |
| Shuttle bus | From Morioka Station (reservation required) |
| TEL | 019-695-3333 |
| FAX | 019-695-3330 |
| URL | https://www.nihonhouse-hr.co.jp |