Japanese hospitality is next level in Tendo Onsen Hotel. Of all the ryokans I've stayed in Japan, this is the best for me. Even when we stayed only for 1 night, I felt like a princess because of the quality service this hotel offered.
Tendo Onsen Hotel is found in the small and quiet town of Tendo City in Yamagata Prefecture. We booked our accommodation here after learning about the tour package for our Ginzan Onsen trip.
The hotel is a 15-minute walk from Tendo Station, but more or less 30 minutes when there's snow.
When we arrived, a van from the hotel picked us up at the train station. We took the bullet train to Tendo from Tokyo. We actually came earlier than the check-in time but they still picked us up and accommodated us in the hotel. They allowed us to leave our bags while we explored the town.
Room
We got back to the hotel around 2 pm. We thought we had to wait for an hour for the official check in time but they led us to our room immediately.
Our room was on the 8th floor and the ambiance of the hallway is just amazing. There was a vending machine on the other end. There were seats in a zen-like area where you could just chill if you don't wanna stay in your room. Near the elevator, there were yukatas available in different sizes if the ones in the room don't fit.
You can even see the town from this elevator area!
Our room was enough for us. Itβs actually so spacious. Our bags were already in the room, we just had to show up. The hotel staff was so nice he led us in the room, explained a few stuff and bowed then bid his farewell. That was plus points for me.
Lobby
We made ourselves home. There was tea and snacks prepared for us but we got coupons to be used in the hotel so we went back to the lobby and had a quick sip of coffee. This was our original plan if we werenβt led to the room. I had juice though. π
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The cafe/waiting area in the lobby had a nice view of the mini waterfalls, plus itβs snowing!
Some parts have turned to ice. Isn't that amazing?
I found these gems while looking around the lobby. These are the shogi pieces that Tendo is proud of. Plus, some meijin-sen matches were held in this hotel. I don't know much about shogi but I know meijin match games are something passionate people look forward to watching. After all, having the meijin title is something extraordinary - it's the most prestigious title as Wikipedia says. I've only known about meijin matches in karuta, but for sure, it's as intense as shogi. I should probably watch an anime about shogi. π
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Dinner
During dinner, we were led to a private room on their restaurant floor.
We were so thrilled seeing our private dining room. Actually, we didn't know it would be private because of all the ryokans we've been to, we usually eat in their dining hall together with everyone or in our room. We didn't know this room was prepared for us here. Plus, the view was just so amazing! This is really perfect for couples!
Our dinner was a Japanese course meal. To be honest, I have no idea of most of the foods I ate but they were all good.
My favorite sashimi was so fresh! I finished it right away. LOL
The fish was surprisingly good. It complemented well with the radish.
Sukiyaki was cooked in this small pan in front of us and it was also so good!
We were so full but wait, there's more. There was a chinese noodle dish and rice served. We usually serve rice together with everything else but here, rice is served almost at the end. Miso soup was served before dessert.
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Who wouldn't be full after this complete meal?
Onsen
After dinner, I went to the onsen. It's located on the basement floor. There were shampoos in many brands available just before you enter the onsen. The changing room was so spacious but I couldn't find the lotion, etc there. There was an indoor onsen and an open-air onsen that had the view of the waterfalls seen from the lobby earlier. Don't worry, even when you're naked in the open-air onsen, no one will see you. I spent most of my time in the open-air onsen because of the view. When it got too hot, I would get up and sit on the bench then dip again.
There was a sauna too but I haven't tried sauna before and I went alone to the onsen so I didn't know what to do so I ended up not entering the sauna room.
No photos of me naked. Sorry guys and gals. π
And of course, no photos of other people naked too! π
You can check out how the onsen looks like in their website.
Nighttime
While we were having our dinner, they prepared our futons in our room so when we came back, everything was all set to sleep. We slept late though, around 2 AM because we were talking and drinking.
Breakfast
Breakfast was buffet style and it didn't look like a restaurant but rather a conference room. There were so many to choose from.
We realized we were the only foreigners in the hotel. Everybody else was Japanese. π Maybe they were wondering how and why we came to Tendo LOL
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So many people were falling in line to get the steak but not the grilled mochi. Got both and were great.
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I wasn't plan on eating rice but when I saw the eggs, I changed my mind. I love TKG, which stands for Tamago Kake Gohan - which means raw egg on top of rice mixed with soy sauce. I didn't put a lot of soy sauce in mind though.
Halfway through eating what I got on my plate, I was already so full but I had to finish this. π
Checkout
After breakfast, some of us went to the onsen for a very quick last dip. I stayed in the room though, enjoying the view and packing my stuff, also last-minute lying down. π
In the 1st floor of the hotel, there was a souvenir shop. We didn't go inside though because it's time to checkout.
The same van that fetched us from the train station took us back there.
It was really a satisfying and relaxing experience at Tendo Hotel. It was my friend's 2nd time in a ryokan, and he's already so hooked on it. He said when he comes back for a vacation, he'll stay in a ryokan again. It's just expensive to stay in a ryokan for many days but that's why we're working hard smart to experience this superb treatment even for a day or two. π
Til next ryokan experience!
Thanks for reading!
See you around! γγγγγΎγγοΌ
All photos are taken using my phone unless stated otherwise.