Aizu Tsuruga Higashiyama Sohonzan
A · 8.4 / 10anchor a leg
A one-party-per-day private-house ryokan in Higashiyama Onsen, converted in 2022 from the owner's grandfather's architect-built home, funded by the family's horsemeat restaurants and holding nothing back on the room, the minibar or the table. KI-NRT places it among the very best of Tohoku alongside Wabizakura and Kawasemi and says the off-the-charts word of mouth is deserved, after one stay. It combines easily with Atamiso, about an hour away.
Scores
Food 4.5 / 5
Dinner is a lavish Aizu Buke kaiseki, and since the family runs horsemeat restaurants the basashi runs to rare cuts like tategami and futaego with caviar, and a spinal-cord sashimi KI-NRT calls their favourite horse part. The salt-grilled wild ayu was amazing. Not everything was best-ever, though he left extremely satisfied, and breakfast is a cut above, with iwana sashimi and eel caught that morning and grilled at the counter.
Bath 4 / 5
The Suite's own deck has a free-flowing onsen bath fed straight from the source, with a view of the river and a sauna room alongside, and an electronically controlled glass door opens it up for the open-air sensation. KI-NRT calls it a wonderful onsen, and since the house takes one party a day, the bath is yours alone.
Service 4.5 / 5
Sohonzan takes one group of guests a day, which gives an intimacy KI-NRT says properties with several rooms cannot hope to match, and it is wonderfully hosted by the GM, Mr. Monoe, and by Ms. Aya Sakata, who was his room attendant. The one thing missing was some bathroom items (toothbrush, shower cap, shaving kit), which he takes for an oversight, and when he raised it the GM said it would be fixed quickly.
Room 4.5 / 5
The Suite is technically in the basement, but the back of the house sits on an embankment above the river, so it is bright and airy, and it is Japanese-modern: heated tatami floors, electronic curtains and windows, two bathrooms and a sprawling deck with a fire pit. KI-NRT calls the in-room drinks out of control: three dispensers of sake, wine and champagne and a fridge with a wider choice than most refrigerators, all of it complimentary.
Place 4.5 / 5
Sohonzan is a 1972 house built by a famous architect for the owner's grandfather, and through the gates you see the main house, a gorgeous garden with a koi pond and a detached tea house. The three-storey main house has lounges, dining rooms and a second tea room in a Taisho-era mix of Japanese and Western styles, which KI-NRT enjoyed exploring. Aizu-Wakamatsu's castle and sake breweries are close by, and Ouchi-juku is under an hour away.
Getting there
- Tokyo — 3h05, 1 transfer. Tōhoku Shinkansen Tokyo→Kōriyama (~80 min), change to the JR Ban'etsu-West line→Aizu-Wakamatsu (~65–80 min), then a ~15-min taxi to Higashiyama Onsen. ⚠ the Ban'etsu-West crosses snow country.
- Kanazawa — 4h50, 2 transfers. Hokuriku Shinkansen Kanazawa→Ōmiya, cross to a 'Yamabiko'→Kōriyama, then the Ban'etsu-West line→Aizu-Wakamatsu + taxi. ⚠ the Ban'etsu-West crosses snow country.
- Sendai — 2h15, 1 transfer. Reverse of: Ban'etsu West Line Aizu-Wakamatsu→Kōriyama (~65 min), transfer to Tōhoku Shinkansen→Sendai (~40 min), plus the ~15-min Higashiyama Onsen taxi. (Direct Aizu–Sendai highway bus ~2h22 is the no-change alt.)
Sources
FlyerTalk review #364 · Ikyu 4.94 / 5 · #634 · #770 (thread mentions)