KAI Kaga

KAI Kaga is a 48-room ryokan (a traditional Japanese inn where guests dine and sleep) in the middle of the hot spring town of Yamashiro Onsen, in Kaga, Ishikawa Prefecture, opposite the Ko-Sōyu public bathhouse. It belongs to KAI, the ryokan brand of the Japanese hotel group Hoshino Resorts, which runs KAI inns in several hot spring areas. It suits a first ryokan stay, for couples or families, for one or two nights: clear timings, rooms for one to four people, children's meals and an evening built around the Kaga lion dance.

Kaga crafts, from the room to the bath

The common thread is the craftwork of the old Kaga domain. All 48 rooms are KAI Signature Rooms decorated with mizuhiki knotted paper cord and Kaga-yūzen dyed fabric, with a Kutani porcelain tea set. The baths are decorated with Kutani porcelain panels by eight artists, dinner is served on Kutani porcelain and Yamanaka lacquerware, and the inn runs a kintsugi workshop, the art of mending ceramics with lacquer and gold.

The Bengara lounge occupies a Bunsei-era (1818-1830) building registered as a cultural property, overlooking the spa quarter; there is also a teahouse, Shiian.

The rooms

There are four types, all with a tatami living room (rice-straw mats) and an adjoining bedroom with low beds, so you keep the Japanese feel while sleeping off the floor. The room table gives the sizes; to choose:

• Shared baths, two or three guests: the TA3 (41 to 51 m²), with shower and separate toilet, the simplest. You bathe in the inn's baths.
• A family of four: the FA4 (62 m²), with a large living room and four beds.
• A private open-air bath: the RA3 and RB3 (51 m² each) have an open-air hot spring bath for the room alone, so you can soak at any hour. The RB3 also has a terrace framed by red Kaga latticework, which you look at from the room but cannot step out onto.

The baths

The water comes from the Yamashiro Onsen spring, said to have been discovered more than 1,300 years ago. The inn's baths are separated by gender; the open-air bath sits beneath a gold-leaf "hazy moon". Guests also have free entry to Ko-Sōyu, across the street, a replica of a Meiji-era (1868-1912) bath tiled with Kutani porcelain, with no showers. Shared-bath etiquette is set out in our onsen etiquette guide.

The evening

Dinner is kaiseki (a Japanese meal of many small seasonal courses), served at 5.30 pm or 7.30 pm, as you choose, in semi-private dining rooms. Children have their own meals, in two age bands: 4 to 6 and 7 to 11. Every evening, staff perform the Kaga lion dance, a traditional dance of the region. Breakfast is served from 7.15 to 9 am, or 8 to 9 am depending on the season. Check-in is at 2.30 pm and check-out at 11 am, which leaves time for a soak before dinner.

With children

KAI Kaga takes children of any age; up to age 6 they can share their parents' bed. The FA4 room sleeps four. Parking is free, with electric vehicle charging.

Getting there and what to do nearby

The ryokan is at 18-47 Yamashiro Onsen, about 10 minutes by taxi or 15 minutes by bus from Kaga-Onsen Station, which is 15 minutes from Kanazawa on the Hokuriku Shinkansen (bullet train) and 2 hours 30 from Tokyo. From Komatsu Airport, allow about 80 minutes by train and bus.

The town is easy to explore on foot around Ko-Sōyu. Yamanaka Onsen, another Kaga spa town, has the Kakusenkei gorge, 1.3 km between the Korogi and Kurotani bridges, with the S-shaped Ayatori bridge lit up in the evening. Kanazawa works as a day trip or as a two-night stop before or after: our Kanazawa and Kaga Onsen page covers the sights, and the Japanese Alps and Kanazawa in 10 days itinerary passes through the region.

KAI Kaga or Beniya Mukayu

The two ryokan in our selection in Yamashiro Onsen suit different stays. Beniya Mukayu, on the hill, has 16 rooms, all with a private open-air hot spring bath, a spa, and takes children from age 7. KAI Kaga, in the town centre, has 48 rooms, only some with a private bath, welcomes children of all ages, sets dinner at 5.30 or 7.30 pm and livens up the evening. To sleep in Kanazawa itself, the selection's address is Kinjohro.