Hanaichi
C · 6.9 / 10situational
A seven-room inn in Tsumagoi, Gunma, founded in 2002 after the owner couple drilled 1,000 meters under the building and hit the onsen jackpot: superb source-fed water in every room plus three 24-hour private baths. The hosts are warm and unpretentious, and the cooking split the household, pretty good to KI-NRT and excellent to his wife. He is blunt that it is no destination ryokan; it works as a comfortable stop on the way to Karuizawa (45 minutes) or Kusatsu (40 minutes).
Scores
Food 3.5 / 5
The head chef is the owner's son, and his kitchen does a competent job with the local fish, meat and produce, all elegantly presented and nothing super fancy: salt-grilled iwana (white-spotted char), Joshu beef steak, and tuna, sweet shrimp and trout sashimi. KI-NRT remembers dinner as pretty good but not particularly memorable, while Mrs. KI-NRT recalls the meals as excellent. Breakfast was quite impressive, with a wide variety of unique dishes.
Bath 4.5 / 5
The owners decided to open a ryokan only after drilling over 1,000 meters below ground and hitting the onsen jackpot, so the water comes straight from the source directly below the property, and it is top-notch quality, with a constant flow that needs no filtration. Every room has its own onsen (not open-air, though you can open the windows), and on top of that there are three private baths open to guests 24 hours a day, first come, first served.
Service 4 / 5
Everyone from the room attendant to the owners to the young head chef was professional and courteous, and they do a great job of making each guest feel at home. KI-NRT felt comfortable here; it is not the type of place that intimidates you the way 'storied and glamorous' ryokans like Tawaraya or Asaba can when you first walk in.
Room 3.5 / 5
The Tsukishi room is a 75-square-metre junior suite with two beds, a living room, a dining table for two, a sitting corner with a kotatsu (a heated coffee table that keeps your feet toasty), a patio, a little work area and its own onsen, which is not open-air though the windows open. From the patio you get a bit of a view of Mt. Asama, but power lines and a cookie-cutter white building detract from it. Meals can be served in the room for a fee.
Place 3 / 5
Hanaichi sits on the side of a road in the middle of nowhere in Tsumagoi, on the far side of Mt. Asama from Karuizawa, and arriving is not wow-inducing, nothing like Gosho Gekkoju: it does not scream luxury from outside, and the reception looks like a rural country home, a mishmash of furnishings that suit the owner's taste. There are barely any grounds, just a common lounge and the rental baths, and KI-NRT says it is not a destination ryokan.
Getting there
- Tokyo — ~3h10, 2 transfers (estimated). Shinkansen to Takasaki + Agatsuma Line ~2.5h, then ~40 min by car.
- Karuizawa — ~0h50, 0 transfers (estimated). ~50 min by car from JR Karuizawa Stn.
Sources
FlyerTalk review #470 · TripAdvisor 4★ (October 2024) · #401 (thread mentions)