Migiwatei Ochikochi

“Traditional Riyokan hospitality at his best”

A perfect stay on a Friday night from the welcoming staff to the comfort of the private oven to a fantastic dinner (with French wine !). Excellent night , great Japanese breakfast and then a bicycle ride in this beautiful coastal town with many temples . Not to mention the incredible sea view from… more

A perfect stay on a Friday night from the welcoming staff to the comfort of the private oven to a fantastic dinner (with French wine !). Excellent night , great Japanese breakfast and then a bicycle ride in this beautiful coastal town with many temples . Not to mention the incredible sea view from my room. The staff has a limited practice of English but it only adds to the uniqueness of the experience and they could not have been nicer

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“Memorable stay in Tomonoura”

While looking for a place to break up our Western Japan road trip and unwind for 2 nights in a small, luxury property, we settled on Migiwatei Ochi Kochi, a high-end ryokan in the port town of Tomonoura. Pouring through articles and reviews (mostly in Japanese), we felt that it would offer large, c… more

While looking for a place to break up our Western Japan road trip and unwind for 2 nights in a small, luxury property, we settled on Migiwatei Ochi Kochi, a high-end ryokan in the port town of Tomonoura. Pouring through articles and reviews (mostly in Japanese), we felt that it would offer large, comfortable rooms with great views, easy access to (leisurely) sightseeing and great food. As we had hoped, Miguwatei Ochi Kochi perfectly fit the bill for us. The ryokan is a relatively small property with just 17 rooms, but comes with all of the amenities one would expect from a much larger luxury hotel. It was built in 2010, so it's still relatively fresh and new, with very little sign of wear and tear. While it lacks a tranquil garden that some luxury ryokans have (think Asaba in the Izu Peninsula), its calling card is the view from both its common area and all of its guestrooms - they all have unobstructed views of the Seto Inland Sea, as well as of the Bentenjima and Sensuijima Islands not far away. It's makes for a really relaxing vibe, which combines well with the modern Japanese architecture and decor, which suits this ryokan very nicely. We stayed in an "Upper Suite Room", the top room category at the ryokan, and features a bedroom and living room as well as a very nice open-air Onsen (hot springs) bath on the room terrace. It's sufficiently large enough to relax and not feel cramped, and - as a bonus - we had meals served in our own room (which is something that is slowly disappearing from even the top ryokans), which we love. The room was stylish without being cluttered, and its earthly tones gave us a warm, welcoming feeling. The property also has two private baths that can be rented - free of charge - by guests. It's obviously larger than the Onsen bath in the guest rooms, so it was a nice change of pace to try it out. Our first night's meal was otherworldly. This ranks among the top 10 meals we've had in a Japanese ryokan. Sure, they have the advantage of getting access to the bounty of seafood, vegetables and meats from the area, but the kitchen staff then take it and make it truly memorable. Yes, it's technically Kaiseki (like at most ryokans), but Migiwatei Ochi Kochi's dinners are exquisitely presented, uniquely prepared and flavored, and meticulously explained (in Japanese to us, mind you) by the servers. We loved the Conger Eel sashimi, which was a first for us. Conger Eel is a delicacy in Japan, but not so unique that it's not offered in many restaurants. But to be served Conger Eel Sashimi, along with the raw liver of the Conger Eel, was definitely a privilege... often in Japan, along with Sashimi comes the liver of the seafood (especially Eel, Abalone, Octopus, etc.), which means that it's FRESH. One seafood that I generally do not like is Mantis Shrimp, but here, it was pretty darned good, which is saying a lot - I've tried liking it before, but never had one that didn't gross me out. Here, it didn't. Even less exotic ingredients were prepared in a way that was greater than the sum of its parts. There was a small custard-style dish that contained two types of Tofu mixed with Usui (a type of Pea) and Sesame, which was spectacularly creamy, rich, tasty and not heavy at all. The Pepper-grilled "Taoshita Wagyu Filet" from Takehara (a nearby town) was tender, perfectly seasoned and cooked just right. I can go on and on... it was truly a culinary feast. One thing to note, however - dinner on the second night was less spectacular and merely "very good." Were it not for the awesomeness of our first meal, we would've loved the second one. I'm not sure if the cooks ran out of ideas, or if the executive chef was out that day, but it was a bit less unique, less pretty to look at, and less stimulating on our palates. Overall, we loved Migiwatei Ochi Kochi. The staff were warm, knowledgeable and on-the-ball, the room was terrific, the Onsen baths were soothing to our skin, the food was phenomenal, and it's centrally situated in Tomonoura. Speaking of location... as an "old town," there are prettier, better preserved, more grand, and/or older and more historic ones in Japan (Takayama, Tsumago and Kyoto's Gion district immediately come to mind.) However, Tomonoura is not without its charms. There's a boat dock just an arm's length away from Migiwatei; boats will take you to Sensuijima Island, which offers some nice, short hikes as well as great views of Tomonoura and the Seto Inland Sea from its hilltop. The port area itself is pretty, there are a few nice temples and shrines (most within walking distance) that also offer amazing scenery, and it's generally a really nice place to spend a day or two just taking it slow and exploring some of the cafes, restaurants and gift shops in the area. There are no UNESCO-inscribed sites and it's less Instagrammable than some of the more blingy locations, but we enjoyed our time there.

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“Now what is the Japanese for “marvellous”? 素晴らしい”

We thoroughly enjoyed our stay at Migawatei Ochikochi. From the “wide view” room, lovely staff and great food and interesting location, we can only say 素晴らしい or marvellous! I particularly loved the furniture and my breakfast!

“Beautiful, relaxing ryokan on the Inland Sea”

We stopped here for two nights towards the end of a two week trip, with the aim of chilling for a couple of days before the bright lights of Tokyo and the trip home. This beautiful hotel really delivered, with beautiful rooms, amazing service, delicious kaiseki meals and the most amazing tranquil v… more

We stopped here for two nights towards the end of a two week trip, with the aim of chilling for a couple of days before the bright lights of Tokyo and the trip home. This beautiful hotel really delivered, with beautiful rooms, amazing service, delicious kaiseki meals and the most amazing tranquil views. It has all the features of a traditional ryokan, with one or two of the conveniences of a truly modern hotel which we really enjoyed - for example dinner and breakfast are served in the dining room rather than in your room, beds were permanent rather than futons, and there was flexibility around timing which we really appreciated. Each room had it's own private onsen tub on a private deck with a view over the sea to Sensui Island. We also used the bookable private onsens on the top floor, but at 45 min per session the time was a little short here, and it was much more relaxing just to use the room. Each room was beautifully decorated, with amazing views, private balcony and wonderful bathroom / onsen facilities. Not much to do in Tomonoura, though it is a pretty little village - we did struggle a but just to find some snacks for lunch on our second day between Japanese feasts as it was mid-week and many places were closed. Public bus to and from Fukuyama station was great, regular and easy to use so can't comment on the shuttle bus. Overall a luxurious and amazing experience. Not cheap but you wouldn't expect it to be!

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