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We were blown away when we last visited Myoken Ishiharaso, but somehow, our stay last week was even more magical. From the enchanting settings to the Onsen quality to the incredible kaiseki cuisine to the professional, friendly and attentive staff, this is genuinely one of the iconic Onsen ryokans in all of Japan. One nice bonus - location wise, it's a mere 15 minutes by taxi from Kagoshima Airport, which is served by four domestic carriers and is a mere 2-hour flight from Tokyo Haneda or an even shorter 75 minute flight from Osaka Itami. Yes, you can easily do an overnight trip to Ishiharaso - just make sure to get there by 2PM (check-in time is an hour earlier than most ryokans), as you'll definitely want to maximize your time there.||||The thing we learned on our second trip had to do with the Onsen quality. We already knew that the hot springs at the property came straight from the nearby source, all baths were free-flowing (and overflowing), the overflow onsen were discharged and never recirculated. While it's not uncommon to have ryokans offer such quality, many of the high-end properties do provide it, and even in the rooms, like Ishiharaso does. But the goodness does not stop there. While many places call their onsen "authentic," Ishiharaso takes things a bit further: the precious hot springs nutrients are never diluted by adding tap water (which is often the case as a means to cool down the hot springs), have no exposure to air/oxygen until it runs into the bath, Alfa Laval (a French company) heat exchangers are used to control the temperature - it is a system that takes only thermal energy using mountain water. For these reasons and more, the onsen is distributed as it is from the source without being in contact with the air or adding a single drop of water to the hot springs. It's pure goodness at Myoken Ishiharaso.||||Also, the size of the bathtubs everywhere - in the rooms, in the communal baths and the rental baths (that can be rented privately by guests staying at the ryokan) - are determined based on the advise from experts based on the principle of one turn per hour - in order to meet hygiene standards for bathtubs. In other words, a bathtub that fills up in an hour is ideal. If you make a bathtub bigger than that, you will need to dilute it with water, circulate the water, and chlorinate it. Therefore, the size of the each of the onsen baths at Ishiharaso was decided according to the amount of onsen it can pipe into each bath.||||Finally - the in-room onsen are drained, meticulously scrubbed clean, and then refilled after each group of guests depart each room. They do the same daily for the communal and rental onsen baths as well.||||Myoken Ishiharaso's hot springs are called "Bijin no Yu" (spring of beauty) thanks to bicarbonate spring (hydrogen carbonate and carbon dioxide) and metasilicic acid (a form of silicon dioxide, aka silica.) Hot springs with hydrogen carbinate are also composed of sodium, calcium and magnesium. Bicarbonate springs are relatively rare in Japan, and is known to have a sedative and relaxing effect. It also works like soap to soften dead skin cells and emulsify sebum to make it easier to remove dirt. This spring water is abundant in alkaline, thus helps to make skin really smooth. The inclusion of carbon dioxide explains the bubbles that formed in our in-room onsen - the hot spring is effectively carbonated just like soda.||||Metasilicic acid is contained in most hot springs, and is said to be a natural moisturizing ingredient that promotes skin metabolism and makes the skin smooth. In addition, it has the effect of adjusting the ceramide that maintains the moisture balance of the skin, and can be expected to have a high moisturizing effect. This ingredient, which is also found in cosmetics, promotes skin metabolism and rejuvenates the skin. It can also be expected to adjust the ceramide of the skin. Ishiharaso claims that women need not apply moisturizer after taking a long soak in one of their onsen baths.||||If that wasn't enough, drinking the Onsen at Ishiharaso is also known to have health benefits. One of the advantages of metasilicic acid is its impact on regulating the stomach and intestines. It has the effect of repairing damaged gastric mucosa and of activating intestinal bacteria. It is also used as a stomach medicine. In addition, it has an antioxidant effect; it helps to reduce the active oxygen that causes the body to decay. By drinking the hot spring, you supposedly can get the benefit of your stomach and intestines to be properly regulated in this way. It also aids in effectively managing lifestyle-related diseases such as diabetes, gout, and liver disease. There is a drinking station along the walkway from the ryokan to the communal and rental onsen baths; I think we all drank about a liter of it during our stay.||||Room wise, we booked two of them for our traveling party, and this time one of them was "Rurimurasaki," the top room at Myoken Ishiharaso and one that we've wanted to try out for a long time. The other room is also in the main building, was completely rebuilt earlier this year, and was called "Hanezu." Rurimurasaki is a Japanese-Western Style Tokubetsu Shitsu ("Special Room") with 120m² of indoor space, faces the Amori River and has a massive wet room with a lounge area next to the large semi-open-air onsen bath. It was modern in design but still distinctly Japanese, although I do feel that the seating area in the wet room was overkill - I would have preferred they allocate more of the space to the actual indoor living area. The other minor drawback - and something that applies to all river view rooms in the main bldg. - is that it's just across the river from another luxury ryokan (Wasure no Sato Gajoen), meaning you probably want the curtains to be lowered at night if the lights are on in the room. The bath shouldn't be a problem, since the window in front of the onsen is covered with a straw matted partition outside of the window. This was not a problem with Kirara - Ishikura is further (slightly) up the river so the only thing on the opposite side of the river is the forest.||||Hanezu was 80m² in size (132m² incl. terrace), beautifully designed and had an outdoor open-air onsen in a hinoki cedar bathtub. It featured a tatami-matted living room with a table and chairs, and a wood-floored bedroom with two Western-style beds. I was told that the sand/rock art on the bedroom wall was specifically designed by a master craftsman that they brought in just to make it for the four rebuilt rooms in the main bldg. With the yellow lights pointed to the wall, it gave out a hauntingly beautiful vibe to the environment, even though the room was otherwise simplistic Japanese in muted hues. I was told that Hanezu was extremely popular for having a Hammam (A Turkish type of steam bath/sauna, but fed by Onsen steam in this case) in the shower area. Press a button, set the temperature, and you're ready to enjoy it.||||The two nits to pick about Hanezu has to do with its location and view. It's at the far end of of the building (farthest away from the Ishikura building), which allows it to have a vast, L-shaped balcony. The problem is, the area of the balcony where the Onsen bath is located faces the street. It's on the 3rd floor, so there is ample privacy, but you can hear the vehicles whizz by - not super loud, but it's noticeable. There are also power lines that are visible between the trees; we were there when all of the foliage had fallen. If you go during a time when leaves are still on the branches, you probably wouldn't see the power lines. Regardless, it's not a river view, so if that's something that is important to you, make sure you choose a different room.||||We were wowed by the food at Myoken Ishiharaso two years ago, but our experience this time topped it. Meals can be had in either one's own room or in the main restaurant. The restaurant contains semi-private "koshitsu" (private dining rooms), which we chose to have for breakfast during our last stay to enjoy the slightly different view (vs. the view from our Kirara room.) Each of the dining areas in the restaurant are decorated in completely different ways - some have a variety of clocks, some have floor-to-ceiling windows with views of the river, while another koshitsu looked like the dining room of a farmhouse during the Meiji era (late 19th Century period.) This time, we oped to have both meals in Rurimurasaki, and were ably served by Mr. Kaminishi for dinner and Ms. Nakamura for breakfast.||||First off, not a single dish was a repeat of anything we had last time. Even the welcome tea and confectionaries served during check-in were different. Most places have a signature dish, right? At Ishiharaso, they don't have one, because every serving seems to qualify as a signature dish. It was a delight to the senses; every small serving of every course was meticulously prepared, creatively flavored and gorgeously presented. One awesome part of high-end kaiseki cuisine is the ceramics, lacquerware, clay pots (for rice), wooden baskets for each meal are carefully selected based on local artistic sensibilities, seasonality and the type of food offering that is intended to be served. Just like in many top ryokans, it's as much of a feast for the eyes (and not just the food) as it is for the nose and mouth.||||A particularly noteworthy serving was Hakusai Sumashi Jitate (clear soup made from the broth of Chinese cabbage and dried bonito flakes) that contained Tai (Japanese Red Sea Bream), a Chinese cabbage "ball" with fish inside that was then covered in a thin sheet of Mochi (pounded sticky rice), and peppered on top with Yuzu (a type of citrus) flakes. Despite what some would consider an odd mixture of ingredients, the variety of flavors, texture and aromas were absolutely intoxicating and complemented one another in perfect harmony. Kyushu is famous for the bounty for the ocean, and Kagoshima is no exception. The lightly-seared (only on the skin) Buri (Japanese Amberjack) was awe-inspiring; we were told they are raised by being fed black vinegar(?!) Regardless of whether that's the reason or not, it was quite possibly the best Buri we've ever had. Similarly, the Takaebi sashimi (a shrimp indigenous to the waters off Kyushu) was plump like fresh Amaebi (sweet shrimp) and was magically basted with a special soy sauce formula.||||We're veteran luxury ryokan travelers, so it's not easy to impress us nowadays. However, we yet again left Myoken Ishiharaso utterly spellbound.
