Soaking in the Details at One Key Ryokan Beniya Mukayu

"A moss map in my room set the tone for an obsession with detail: a 20-year, season-by-season catalog of the garden’s botanical treasures that had me arriving well before evening—truly, I’d come at daybreak if allowed—just to watch komorebi, the play of light and shadow filtering through leaves, move across the earthen lobby floor made of local diatomaceous earth. Thirty years after the Nakamichis took over (he the third generation), this 16-room ryokan delivers elite hospitality recognized on the MICHELIN Guide’s inaugural Key list; you’ll likely meet the owners and be served matcha by them, the powder ceremoniously scooped from a smooth, handcrafted natsume as they remind you, “It’s not only about drinking tea. It’s a showcase of Japanese culture and aesthetics.” The aesthetic mixes tradition and contemporary touches—outside the spa, a round black pool by Kenya Hara once shown at the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art—while rooms are pared-back sanctuaries facing a near-forest of 300-year-old pines; only four offer futons on tatami, the rest two Western full beds, and every room has its own private, open-air onsen. “Richness in emptiness” defines the place, from shoji-lined spaces to three libraries honoring monks who studied here (including Library Zero), and it’s easy to feel “free to expand,” as one guest put it. Meals lean into the seasons and local sourcing: Japanese or Western breakfast; omakase dinners with optional upgrades to sushi or in-season oysters, duck, or snow crab, with dietary needs accommodated. Practical notes: no children under seven; rooms fit two guests max; in winter the snowy garden is magical, and in spring certain suites—especially the Wakamurasaki—gain a prized view of a century-old cherry tree from a bamboo veranda. Perched above the tiny spa town of Yamashiro, the ryokan can arrange hands-on experiences with local artisans or hikes to a natural cold spring. By edict here, this isn’t a “hotel”—a ryokan is the trip—so come ready to soak in every detail." - Mitchell Friedman