Kotohira Kadan

“Luxurious stay”

This hotel is situated 15 min walk to town. Parking is free and just outside the hotel up a very steep slope. The hotel employs a lot of different staff from Sri Lanka , Nepal etc hence getting yourself understood in English is not much of a problem . You are greeted at the car park and checked i… more

This hotel is situated 15 min walk to town. Parking is free and just outside the hotel up a very steep slope. The hotel employs a lot of different staff from Sri Lanka , Nepal etc hence getting yourself understood in English is not much of a problem . You are greeted at the car park and checked in at reception with tea and a hot towel and then led to your room with someone wheeling the luggage . The twin room is luxurious with a sofa set and very comfortable beds . Wifi is excellent . Our room faced town and we could see the glorious sunset . Onsen was at another building . There was an indoor and outdoor onsen . The outdoor onsen faced the canal and was surrounded by bamboo trees . It was very peaceful soaking there . Dinner was kaiseiki style , cuisine was exquisitely prepared and was delicious . Breakfast was also exquisitely prepared but with fewer dishes and included a small grilled flatfish . Overall a luxurious stay

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“Wonderful in every way!!”

Very kind and accommodating staff, from our first email contact until we checked out and said good bye at the train station. We received much helpful advice about which room would best meet our preferences when we wrote and asked about the options. Our room was lovely and large with a great vie… more

Very kind and accommodating staff, from our first email contact until we checked out and said good bye at the train station. We received much helpful advice about which room would best meet our preferences when we wrote and asked about the options. Our room was lovely and large with a great view overlooking the city from floor to ceiling expansive windows. Excellent and beautiful meals were presented by our attentive personal servers in a private room. We stayed 3 nights and the chef went out of his way to give us different menus for each meal. Our server told us that most people do not stay so long, and menus are repeated, but the chef enjoyed making special meals for us so we did not have to eat the same thing twice. For each meal we were presented with a written out menu in English and Japanese. The presentation was exquisite and the food was plentiful. Daily sweets were left for us in our room along with an information sheet including the weather forecast for the next day. The onsen was quite pleasant but it was a long walk from our room. In fact, the expansive property required a lot of walking to get from one area to another. This would be no problem except for the fact that getting to the lobby required a walk out of doors in the cold. Umbrellas are provided next to each exit door just in case. The property is set in a pretty and photographable garden with three Sukiya-zukuri Japanese houses. The walk up the hill to the lobby can be strenuous if you are not used to walking up hills should you decide to take a look around the neighborhood. There is a convenient back gateway which leads to a walking trail to Kanamararuza Theater, the old kabuki playhouse, Kotohira-gū, Kotohira Park, and Mount Zozu. Do walk to the inner shrine at the top of the 1368 steps which we have now done on 2 visits to Kotohira. They offer a free shuttle from and to the train station, just let the ryokan desk staff know your arrival and departure time. We informed them by email of our arrival time and the shuttle was at the station for us. We loved it here and would gladly return!

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“Luxury ryokan experience”

Wonderful place - just be warned that the meals are a lot of food! Our waiter was so sweet but was visibly disappointed in my poor attempts to enjoy the perfectly presented and delicious Japanese meals - we ordered western breakfast on our second/last day just to change things up, and that was hug… more

Wonderful place - just be warned that the meals are a lot of food! Our waiter was so sweet but was visibly disappointed in my poor attempts to enjoy the perfectly presented and delicious Japanese meals - we ordered western breakfast on our second/last day just to change things up, and that was huge too - the rooms are very large by any standards and ours had a tub on the terrace - delightful! The staff are kind and helpful, and the grounds are lovely. Even if this is a splurge, it's highly recommended!

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“Steeped in tradition”

We just returned from a quick but memorable trip to Shikoku. We stayed at Kotohira Kadan for our first night since it's conveniently situated to enjoy some of the finest Sanuki Udon noodle restaurants in the area (we chose not to explore Kotohira-gu (aka "Konpira-san") - that will be reserved for a… more

We just returned from a quick but memorable trip to Shikoku. We stayed at Kotohira Kadan for our first night since it's conveniently situated to enjoy some of the finest Sanuki Udon noodle restaurants in the area (we chose not to explore Kotohira-gu (aka "Konpira-san") - that will be reserved for a next visit.) While we enjoy modern rooms as much as the next person, we also appreciate traditional architecture, furnishings and decor... and Chouseiden (長生殿), Kotohira Kadan's top room, oozed history and tradition in a way that left us with a lasting impression. Chouseiden is one of a handful of stand-alone villas at the ryokan, and was inhabited by the local Lord many years ago. It's also liberally adorned with the art collection of the original owner Kotohira Kadan, including ancient folding screens, sliding doors and hanging scrolls that were produced by famous artists. It's so history-laden that it is bound to creep some people out... I don't think Mrs. KI-NRT would ever choose to live in such a room, but as an "experience" it was well worth the privilege of trying out Chouseiden. It does have the comforts of a modern ryokan/hotel, such as toilets with washlets, fast WiFi and Western-style beds, and boasts 152m² of total living space, which is generous by any definition of a flagship ryokan room. The only drawback was the lack of a private Onsen (natural hot springs) bath in the room - something we've come to expect at top-level ryokans, at least (and especially) in their top rooms. Some of the standard rooms do offer in-room Onsen baths, however, which might tip the scales to the non-villa rooms' favor for some people. As a consolation, Kotohira Kadan offers the use of their private bath (which can be rented out by the hour), and it's free for guests staying at one of the Hanare Villa rooms. Food was served in our room, and it was a delight. While it's not the best ryokan meal we've ever had, we appreciated the efforts taken by the kitchen staff to offer seasonal and local dishes that gave us a good taste of Kagawa. In particular, the deep-fried Pike Conger with simmered vegetables doused in a dashi broth was unique and flavorful, as well as the Red Sea Bream Shabu Shabu (Hot Pot.) Breakfast was also varied and bountiful, although nothing really blew us away, which is just as well, since we were planning to go on an Udon tasting expedition beginning later that morning. The grounds are not massive, but there's a pretty little pond with some interesting vegetation around it. And the architecture of the Hanare Villas (including Chouseiden) give Kotohira Kadan a real sense of place given its proximity to Kotohira-gu. Keep in mind that the property is quite large when it comes to room count (43 total), so there may be some walking between your room and the main reception and lounge areas (from Chouseiden, you'll need to walk outside for a short distance - fine if the weather is cooperating.) Service is not up to the standards set by top luxury ryokans in Japan; it partly has to do with the comparatively high room count, but perhaps the service culture in Kagawa is not as refined as other locales(?) While there was nothing wrong with the staff, their attitude was indifferent overall. They were not particularly proactive (nobody came running out to help us with our bags when we pulled up in the parking lot, for instance), and the pace of meeting requests was leisurely at best. Overall, Kotohira Kadan offers a good stay at a reasonable price, and while it's not luxurious or provides the Omotenashi service that finer ryokans in Hakone or Izu are famous for, the uniqueness of the Chouseiden experience made our stay a memorable one.

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