Umioto Mari
C · 6.5 / 10situational
A six-room seaside ryokan on Shodoshima, Japan's olive-growing island, opened in April 2019 as the modern sister property to the traditional Shimayado Mari (about 10 minutes away by car). The star attraction is a twelve-course Olive Kaiseki dinner that KI-NRT called wonderful, but there is no onsen anywhere on site, only a tub you fill yourself, cut with spring water carried over from Shimayado Mari, which is a real letdown if onsen is what you are after. Ikyu's guests love it regardless, with meals and satisfaction near the top of their marks.
Scores
Food 4.5 / 5
The star attraction is the twelve-course Olive Kaiseki, in which just about every dish carries olive oil: celery juice with yuzu olive oil, miso-marinated olive-fed hamachi, grilled olive-fed Sanuki wagyu shank, and a milk and rosemary sorbet with olive oil frozen over it into a hard shell. KI-NRT worried about being 'olived-out' halfway through, but the olive never overpowered the other ingredients. Ikyu guests give the meals their highest mark.
Bath 2 / 5
There is no onsen here, and no communal bath either. The owner drilled deep but never hit a spring, so the bath in your room is one you fill yourself, with onsen water carried over from Shimayado Mari and mixed with ground water, which makes it technically half onsen. KI-NRT called it nice but said that if onsen is what you are after, this isn't going to cut it.
Service 3.5 / 5
The waiters explain the olive oil in each dish the way a sommelier explains wine, down to how it was farmed, which KI-NRT found a tad overboard even for someone who loves the stories behind the food, though they had an answer to any question he asked. The one drawback is the meal times: dinner is at 17:30 or 19:30 and nothing else, and with half the rooms empty they still refused to shift his by 30 minutes. Ikyu guests mark the service lowest.
Room 3 / 5
There are six rooms in all, each with a view of the sea, and two of them are 'hanare' villas of 73 square metres. KI-NRT's villa To no Oto was adequate, but for a property that opened in 2019 he was surprised to find a single sink and vanity, and even the top category room has no separate bedroom and living room. Ikyu guests mark the rooms among the property's highest categories.
Place 3.5 / 5
A small, charming property by the sea on Shodoshima, with no Japanese garden but a wonderful view of the ocean from the rooms. Shimayado Mari sits in the centre of town about 10 minutes away by car, a plus or a minus depending on what you are after, and with a car KI-NRT preferred the more tranquil setting here. The island itself is a peaceful place to laze away and do some light sightseeing, though he says nothing on it is bucket-list material.
Getting there
- Takamatsu — ~1h35, 1 transfer (estimated). ~1 hr ferry from Takamatsu port to Shodoshima (Tonosho or Ikeda), plus a taxi/drive across the island to Horikoshi.
- Himeji — ~2h20, 1 transfer (estimated). ~2 hr ferry from Himeji (KI-NRT's own route into Shodoshima) to Fukuda port, plus a short drive to Horikoshi.
Sources
FlyerTalk review #91 · Ikyu 4.83 / 5 · #92 (thread mentions)