Hakone: Gora Kadan -- Traditional ryokan luxury

Paying a minimum ¥70,000 per person -- per person, not per room -- for one night at a luxurious traditional ryokan like Gora Kadan in Hakone with nothing on the walls, sparse styling and hardly anything to do, you may feel like demanding a refund. But let me explain. Though obscenely expensive for a one-night stay, a top-end ryokan will recharge you in a way that a week in the Maldives never will. 

On arrival your bags will be taken and placed in your room before you even open the door. Entering your room shoeless, you’ll see a low table with legless chairs dominating the centre of the tatami room, partitions of shoji panels, an ornamental alcove with a seasonal hanging scroll and an ikebana arrangement. Your room attendant will introduce herself and explain how to wear the yukata you’re given for your stay. Just as torii gates symbolize the separation of the secular from the spiritual world, wearing your yukata is a reminder that you’ve entered another realm and a new rule applies -- no rushing. Slowing down you’ll soon appreciate that which you usually take for granted. Previous one-dimensional activities like bathing become multi-sensorial experiences.

After your attendant has served green tea and a traditional Japanese sweet in your room you will twiddle your thumbs and think, now what? And this is where the magic begins. This style of accommodation forces you to slow down as one learns how to relax, eat and sleep in one room. Ryokans highlight the internal, not the external. Not what’s going on ‘out there’ on the street, but what’s going on ‘in here’ inside yourself. Not the obvious, but the subtle.

De-cluttering the mind and spirit

One night at Gora Kadan will leave an indelible impression on your body, mind and spirit. For the ryokan to do this, it requires you to have a still mind to appreciate the details -- the way the attendant places a lamp to shine on the corner of your futon so it leaves a perfect shadow, or how an edible chrysanthemum is placed on your sashimi ‘just so’. Hence nothing on the walls -- no distractions. Most rooms do have views of a garden and this type of gazing is encouraged. 

But the rich and famous of the world don’t only come to Gora Kadan to gaze at rock ponds. They come for the kaiseki meal, a traditional style of Japanese cuisine served as a series of small dishes (imagine a grand and elaborate degustation menu). Both dinner and breakfast are served in your room. The dishes feature regional specialties and seasonal delicacies like the first bamboo shoots of the season. You will ooh and aah over every dish now and in 10 year's time. This holistic eating experience with its sublime taste, exquisitely detailed aesthetic presentation, flawless surroundings and faultless service will be lodged in your memory forever. 

After dinner ease into your pre-filled cedar wood bath or visit the communal onsen while the attendant puts the table away and prepares the futon for your night’s rest. In the morning at a prearranged time the attendant will put the futon away and prepare the table for breakfast. You can choose to have a Western or Japanese breakfast, but seriously, you can have toast and orange juice anywhere in the world. You’ll soon be singing the praises of a steamed rice, grilled fish, miso soup and tofu breakfast.

On arrival the sensation of grace floods your system. On leaving less than 24 hours later, the restoration process is complete. But really, Gora Kadan, the rock star of the luxury ryokans, shouldn’t be talked or written about -- it needs to be experienced.

1300, Gora, Hakone-Machi Ashigarasitagun, Kanagawa, Japan. Tel: +81 (0) 460 82 3331
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