Thomas C.
Google
We discovered Zenagi three years ago, when we walked the Nakasendo trail. We enjoyed the beautiful house, the catering and the sports activities, kayaking on the Kiso river, paragliding high above the rice paddies in the Kiso valley, so much that we decided to return to this gem in November as part of another vacation in Japan.
Selah, the private butler, and her team pampered us throughout our 3 day (2 nights) stay. Selah had interacted with us over weeks to meticulously plan the activities during our stay, and exceeded our already high expectations. The private visit to the Yamato family, creators of beautiful bowls and plates from various woods and the hand on experience of maki-e painting was as memorable as the visit to the Mino Ceramic Art Museum and the Kõbei Kiln in Tajimi. The latter is a 220-year-old kiln, and we were not only guided by Ryotaro Kato, now 8th generation head of this family of Living National Treasure potters, but also had the privilege of enjoying a Matcha Tea ceremony with the artist, and drink Matcha from bowls, each of them an artwork in itself.
Last but not least, the two multi-course dinner menus prepared by Chef Ishimatsu with his "farm to kitchen" philosophy, drawing on local producers, were highly innovative and just amazing in terms of presentation as well as execution, including in the way he coped with dietary restrictions.
Little doubt that Zenagi will again be on our destination list when we visit Japan in the future.