Kinsuikan
A · 8.1 / 10anchor a leg
A 39-room Miyajima ryokan that won KI-NRT back to the island after a disappointing stay at Iwaso, provided you book one of the six renovated special rooms, because the regional kaiseki served there (conger eel, fugu, Hiroshima oysters) is the reason to stay. The kitchen has to carry a large operation, since nobody in the thread has written about the service and the in-room baths are not true onsen, so the inn ends up below what the plates alone would suggest. It is near the bottom of its price class and KI-NRT's choice for a night on the island.
Scores
Food 5 / 5
KI-NRT called the kaiseki dinner and the breakfast sublime, and the meal is built on Hiroshima's seafood: raw conger eel with its liver, fugu, abalone and stonefish sashimi, then oyster hot pot and grilled Hiroshima oysters. The bilingual omakase menus are among the most extensive he has seen, naming the farm or port behind each ingredient. These meals are for the six special rooms; others can pay to upgrade dinner but cannot get that breakfast.
Bath 3.5 / 5
The communal gender-segregated baths are honest-to-goodness onsen and reportedly the only ones on Miyajima. The in-room baths of the special rooms are not onsen, though: the water picks up some calcium and magnesium from the rocks in the tub, and KI-NRT, a big fan of jumping in and out of an in-room onsen, counted this as his one disappointment. The top-floor room 403 has its bath in the open air.
Service
Nobody in the thread has written about the service here. Guests in the six special rooms have both dinner and breakfast served in the room.
Room 4 / 5
The six Tokubetsu-shitsu special rooms were completely redone in 2021 or 2022 and are new and modern, with sea views, heated floors, a free-flowing bath by the window and both meals served in the room. They are small at 42 square metres, while the upper traditional suites run over 100, but KI-NRT says their advantages are too great to ignore unless you travel as a family. The toiletry kits are a level above even good Japanese inns.
Place 4.5 / 5
Kinsuikan is a short walk from the Miyajima ferry terminal and around the corner from the main tourist strip, with a rooftop terrace where you look across at Itsukushima Shrine and the torii gate. The building is nondescript and there is no garden to speak of, but the special rooms look out at the Seto Inland Sea. KI-NRT urges you to stay overnight: the landmarks are lit at night, the morning is quiet, and 99% of visitors are daytrippers.
Getting there
- Hiroshima — 1h, 1 transfer. Reverse of: Ferry + JR back to Hiroshima (~50 min).
- Kyoto — 2h40, 2 transfers. Shinkansen Kyoto→Hiroshima (~1h40), JR to Miyajimaguchi + ferry (~40 min), then ~3-min walk.
- Fukuoka — 2h15, 2 transfers. Sanyo Shinkansen Nozomi Hakata→Hiroshima (~1h), JR Sanyo Main Line→Miyajimaguchi (~25 min), then the ~10-min ferry to Miyajima + short walk.
Sources
FlyerTalk review #55 · TripAdvisor 5★ (December 2022) · Ikyu 4.55 / 5 · #64 · #319 (thread mentions)