Bettei Senjyuan

“Stylish ryokan that deftly combines traditional and modern aesthetics”

We loved our stay here. Bettei Senjuan was established in 1997 as an annex of Ryokan Tanigawa in the Tanigawa Onsen area, and not far from the larger Minakami Onsen. Ryokan Tanigawa is a large, standard ryokan whereas Bettei Senjuan was created with luxury and bespoke experiences in mind. It has 18… more

We loved our stay here. Bettei Senjuan was established in 1997 as an annex of Ryokan Tanigawa in the Tanigawa Onsen area, and not far from the larger Minakami Onsen. Ryokan Tanigawa is a large, standard ryokan whereas Bettei Senjuan was created with luxury and bespoke experiences in mind. It has 18 rooms, and all of them have in-room onsen hot springs. Despite the ryokan being 26 years old, it is very well maintained, and is stylishly constructed, adorned and furnished. The main corridor connecting the common area and the rooms have floor-to-ceiling glass windows on one side, allowing for incredible view of the Southern Alps range and the well manicured property grounds. The overall architecture is impressive - every wall, beam and counter has elaborate carvings or artwork on them. And in every nook and cranny, there are small but precious adornments, from a flower/vase to a traditional string instrument to a mini display of tress with colored maple leaves on the ground to signify the fall foliage season. You can spend many hours exploring the glorious attention to detail in every corner of Senjuan. We booked the "Special Room SP" room category, which is the top suite in the ryokan. It has a living room, bedroom, a tea room, a (very) mini inner garden, an open-air bath with a view of the river, forest and the Alps, and is stylish beyond belief while still being traditional in general design and layout. Everything from the ceiling artwork and carvings to the decorations on the sliding doors have amazing detail, and really gives it a sense of place. One thing to note - this Suite is almost completely tatami-matted, meaning you sit on a floor (on top of a sitting pillow, mind you) and you'll sleep on futons rather than a Western style bed. If this isn't up your alley, I believe there are other room categories that offer more "foreigner-friendly" accommodations. Bettei Senjuan takes care of every amenity you could ask for - their toiletries consist of Molton Brown and De Medici (never heard of the latter, however) branded items, and offer every item that anyone can possibly need when living in their own home. Additionally, there were two separate bathrooms and dual sinks/vanities, which Mrs. KI-NRT always appreciates. The in-room, open-air Onsen bath gets its hot springs straight from the source, is continually free-flowing and never recirculated. That said, we found the temperature to be a bit on the lukewarm side - most Westerners prefer it that way, but I can't help but think that Japanese visitors (including ourselves) would prefer it to be a few degrees higher. Although dining is not in-room, we had our meals served in a Koshitsu (private dining room), which was good enough for us. The kaiseki meal was definitely a highlight - it was 11 courses in total (which is typical of an elaborate luxury ryokan kaiseki meal) and many of the dishes focused on local ingredients, which is one of the reasons to visit ryokans in regional locations. That said, the most memorable offering was a savory, souffle-like custard with grilled Conger Eel, Red King Crab, Japanese Taro, Lily Bulb and Yuba (Tofu Skin.) Very original and simply sublime. Bettei Senjuan offers a unique experience as an off-the-beaten path yet luxurious destination ryokan. While Japan is full of amazing ryokans and we still have many places we'd like to try out during our lifetime, if circumstances have us visiting the area in the future, we would not hesitate to stay here yet again.

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“Great rooms, great food, great service”

This hot spring resort is a beautiful facility located on large, gorgeous grounds, less than two hours from Tokyo station. The Tanigawa mountain range mid-November offered a wonderful backdrop to our suite of three rooms including our private outdoor bath. We spent two days walking the grounds, e… more

This hot spring resort is a beautiful facility located on large, gorgeous grounds, less than two hours from Tokyo station. The Tanigawa mountain range mid-November offered a wonderful backdrop to our suite of three rooms including our private outdoor bath. We spent two days walking the grounds, enjoying the wonderful cuisine, taking numerous dips in our bath as well as experiencing dips in the the two larger communal baths. The service was impeccable, the refrigerator refilled regularly, and late night snacks delivered to our room both evenings. The facility is large but there are only about 16 suites so it feels very quiet and tranquil. Whether you are visiting Japan for the first time or are a frequent visitor to onsen resorts, you should consider staying at Bettei Senjuan. We think it is special.

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“More relaxed than I can ever remember”

We were lucky enough to stay for 2 nights, 25 and 26/12 - it was a wonderful experience from beginning to end. The building is amazing architecture and the outlook is the river and mountains in the distance, the hotel is set in a quiet area about 5 minutes from the small township, so very private. … more

We were lucky enough to stay for 2 nights, 25 and 26/12 - it was a wonderful experience from beginning to end. The building is amazing architecture and the outlook is the river and mountains in the distance, the hotel is set in a quiet area about 5 minutes from the small township, so very private. Attention to detail is the norm here; the service is caring and exceptional. We had a Japanese style room with outdoor onsen (think all the rooms have their own onsen) - everything was very clean, plenty of towels, drinking water on hand, snacks in the room after dinner and during the day. We're a difficult group to accommodate food wise, I often go to bed hungry in Japan because I don't like fish/seafood or red meat. Bettei Senjuan sent us several emails checking on this and that...and the 3 of us thoroughly enjoyed our meals - each dining space is private, it's a real feast, course after course, so much care is taken with each dish. (and some stunning porcelain) We had the irori in the centre, we were seated around it on cushions with a well for our legs - very comfortable. The wine list is also, very good too, and well priced. We were all so relaxed...there are some nice walks too, in the grounds or into the small town of Minakami. We also loved the library in the grounds, relaxing chairs, open fire and help yourself to tea or coffee. Beautiful... Do yourself a favour - stay for at least 2 nights, it's 2.5 hours from Tokyo with one change of train, the complimentary pick up from Minakami station was convenient too. The hotel contacted us and warned us about delays on one train line and suggested we take another line, we did, and it worked out well. (that's amazing service) No snow, except high up on the mountains. We'll visit again next year... Negatives: none really, but note - if you want lunch, you have to order it just after breakfast or you'll need to head into town, it's only 5 or so minutes away so no big deal. If you find futons hard on the back, I think you can opt for a western room. The yakata is a challenge initially, but you get used to it very quickly, nice to just wander about in your yakata without a care in the world..

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“Service makes Bettei Senjuan exceptional”

We've stayed in many ryokans all over Japan so speaking from experience. Received a call from the ryokan staff informing us that due to rain, the roads were slippery and to drive carefully. Not the easiest place to find; got a little lost on the way to. Once there though, the service staff made us … more

We've stayed in many ryokans all over Japan so speaking from experience. Received a call from the ryokan staff informing us that due to rain, the roads were slippery and to drive carefully. Not the easiest place to find; got a little lost on the way to. Once there though, the service staff made us feel comfortable with welcome drinks and not hurrying us to dinner even though we arrived close to the last seating time for dinner. Kaiseki dinner was in a private room; food was good and more than adequate although we've had better. They incorporate some western element into a few japanese dishes. Room faces a rushing river, and comes with an outdoor bath. We stayed 2 nights and each dinner and breakfast had different dishes. Breakfast was lavish, they do make an effort to please.The serving staff were always friendly and our child's juices for all the meals were complimentary. They also prepared midnight snacks - rice cakes, fruits, onigiri in our room (as if we could stuff ourselves again and wake up for breakfast to eat again?!) Upon check-out, they served us a choice of drinks again and gave us free bottled water for our journey. Usually in another ryokan, we'd be hurried off after checking out, this place wins for not packing their guests off hastily. Bettei is not cheap, the town of Minakami is a ghost town at this time of year but the experience they offer makes it worthwhile to go out of the way. Well deserving of the Relais & Chateaux membership.

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