Asaba
S · 9.4 / 10build the trip around it
A 500-year-old Shuzenji inn that KI-NRT keeps permanently on his list of top ryokans and calls the pinnacle of Japanese architecture, hospitality and cuisine near Tokyo, arranged around a koi pond, a night-lit bamboo grove and a working Meiji-era Noh stage where Living National Treasures still perform. Since the 2023 rebuild every one of the 12 suites has a private onsen and there are no bad rooms left: Hagi and the villa Tenko for brook-side calm, Hagoromo for the stage view.
Scores
Food 5 / 5
Izu-rooted kaiseki served in your room: Suruga Bay abalone with its liver sauce over sticky rice, spiny lobster with a broth from the head, and farm wasabi that KI-NRT ate on its own. He calls the food divine, the tried-and-true kaiseki formula done to wonderful effect, and the breakfast dashimaki tamago possibly the best he has ever had. One couple found it a little short of Myoken Ishiharaso; another put it above every Fufu kitchen.
Bath 4.5 / 5
Every suite has had its own onsen since the 2023 rebuild (Tenko's is much larger than Hagi's, and Moegi's has no view), so the one communal open-air bath now gets little use. It is a large natural-rock rotenburo on a private stretch of the pond with the bamboo grove beyond, alternating between men and women every few hours, and KI-NRT had it to himself at 4PM and 10PM. Two indoor gender-segregated baths and a family bath complete the set.
Service 4.5 / 5
A kimono-clad nakai-san looks after each room and serves both meals there; KI-NRT's, Noriko, pre-heated his shoes moments before he went out, and he says the Aman ninjas have nothing on Asaba's kimono-clad ladies. It is refined but warm, with no hint of snobbery. The one drawback is English. One couple had requests vanish in translation and called the service good but not great, and a 2025 returnee's bag was nearly left behind at checkout.
Room 4.5 / 5
Twelve suites remain after the 2023 renovation, each with its own onsen, and KI-NRT says there are no bad rooms left. Hagi and the 220m2 villa Tenko are the quiet picks, ground-floor with nothing above them and a babbling brook outside instead of the stage. The rebuilt 126m2 Hagoromo is the modern one to get for the Noh stage, with an open-air bath on the terrace. The futons may be the best one couple ever slept on.
Place 5 / 5
Behind the main building a koi pond holds the Noh stage, brought from Tokyo in the Meiji era, with a waterfall on the left and a bamboo grove and forested hill behind; Living National Treasures perform on it several times a year, and at night it is lit and the bamboo looks otherworldly. Inside is light and airy, with a Lee Ufan mural at the entrance and a 1978 Yayoi Kusama painting in the lounge. Winter leaves the grounds barer and less colorful.
Getting there
- Tokyo — 1h45, 0 transfers. 'Kodama'/'Hikari' Tokyo→Mishima (~45-55 min, every ~30 min), then the flat-rate cab into the Shuzenji valley (~40-50 min, book with the room). No self-handled change. Rail alt: Izuhakone Sunzu line→Shuzenji (~35 min) + short taxi, +1 change.
- Kyoto — 2h40, 0 transfers. Reverse of: The inn-bookable flat-rate cab Shuzenji valley→Mishima (~40-50 min; Asaba ¥12-15k, book with the room — Asaba runs NO shuttle), then the direct Mishima-calling 'Hikari'→Kyoto (1h50, ~2-hourly, dep Mishima :58 — reserve; hourly 'Kodama'+change fallback). No self-handled change. Rail alt: Sunzu line→Mishima (~35 min), +1 change.
Sources
FlyerTalk review by hl888 #309 · FlyerTalk review by OWHKG2016 #438 · FlyerTalk review by pdxerinsaarland #463 · FlyerTalk review #510 · FlyerTalk review by Fc912 #669 · TripAdvisor 5★ (March 2021) · TripAdvisor 4★ (May 2022) · TripAdvisor 5★ (November 2021) · Ikyu 4.77 / 5 · #394 (thread mentions)