Wanosato

Wanosato is a ryokan (a traditional Japanese inn where guests dine and sleep) in Ichinomiya, in the Miya River valley south of Takayama, Gifu Prefecture. On 45,000 m² of grounds facing Mount Norikura, it offers four villas set in Hida houses and three suites in a 160-year-old farmhouse. It suits couples who want two nights in the countryside, gathered round a hearth, between Takayama's old town and Shirakawa-gō, and who are happy with a house without a lift and children only from primary-school age.

Living in a Hida house

Wanosato houses its guests in Hida's wooden architecture: the main building is a reconstruction of a wealthy farmer's 160-year-old mansion, and the villas are separate houses, including a 120-year-old house moved and rebuilt on the grounds, and two gasshō-zukuri houses with steep thatched roofs like those of Shirakawa-gō. The decor features Hida Shunkei lacquer, a clear finish that lets the wood grain show through.

In the evening, after dinner, the inn gathers its guests round the irori (a hearth sunk into the floor) for Hida folk tales and kappo-zake, sake warmed in a length of bamboo.

Villas or suites: how to choose

The room table gives sizes and capacities. Every unit has its own private bath, filled with heated groundwater: stone in the villas, rebuilt in 2025, and hinoki (Japanese cypress) in the suites.

The four villas, in separate buildings, for one to four guests:

• Tenryo (108 m²) has the terrace facing the Miya River, a water mill and virgin forest. It is the only room on the estate combining Japanese and Western styles, with Shunkei lacquer decor.
• Garyu (110 m²) is the 120-year-old house rebuilt on site, the only room with its own irori hearth, plus a 9 m² tea room.
• Kariyasu and Kuraiyama (80 m² each) are the two gasshō-zukuri houses, with earthen walls and high ceilings and an underfloor-heated room in the manner of a Korean ondol.

The three suites are in the main building:

• Ichinomiya (83 m²), on the ground floor, the largest, has the river below the window and walls lined with bulrush.
• Miyanoma (60 m²), at the end of the upstairs corridor, is the highest room in the building, with an open view.
• Hida (48 m²), upstairs, looks out to the mountainside; in winter, icicles 1.5 m long hang from the roof.

Children from primary-school age are accepted in the villas only. There is no lift: the upstairs suites are reached by stairs.

The baths

The Hida Kuraiyama Onsen hot spring rises on the grounds. It feeds two communal baths, a rock bath and an all-hinoki bath, separated by gender, open from 2 pm to 5.50 pm and again from 6.30 am to 10 am the next day. You can ask at the front desk, on the day, to have them to yourselves. There is no open-air bath. Shared-bath etiquette is explained in our onsen etiquette guide.

Dining

Dinner is the Wagokoro kaiseki (kaiseki being a Japanese meal of many small seasonal courses), served in the house's dining rooms, Ichiinoma, Amanogawa and Shikounoma. Breakfast is at 8, 8.30 or 9 am. Hida is also the home of Hida beef, found on menus across Takayama.

Arriving and leaving

The inn is at 1682 Ichinomiya-machi, Takayama. Its shuttle leaves the west exit of JR (Japan Railways) Takayama Station at 2.20, 3.20 and 4.20 pm, and returns there at 9, 10 and 11 am; book it 7 days ahead. Check-in is between 3 and 5 pm, check-out at 11 am. Driving in winter, snow tyres are compulsory.

Takayama is 2 hours 20 from Nagoya on the Hida limited express, about 4 hours 15 from Osaka on the direct Hida express, and about 2 hours 15 from Kanazawa by express bus.

Around Wanosato

The old town of Sanmachi, with its latticed merchant houses and sake breweries marked by a ball of cedar leaves, is Takayama's first sight, along with Takayama Jinya, the former shogunate administration office. The Hida no Sato open-air museum has more than 30 old buildings, including thatched farmhouses. The Takayama festivals fall on 14 and 15 April and 9 and 10 October: rooms for those dates go early. Shirakawa-gō, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1995, makes a day trip. All of this is covered on our Hida Takayama and Shirakawa-go page, and the Japanese Alps and Kanazawa in 10 days itinerary spends two nights at Wanosato, arriving from Kanazawa via Shirakawa-gō.

Wanosato or KAI Okuhida

Our selection has two ryokan in the region. Wanosato is a country inn of four villas and three suites, south of Takayama and reached by its shuttle, with indoor communal baths and children from primary-school age. KAI Okuhida, opened in 2024 in Hirayu, about 45 minutes by car from Takayama at 1,200 m, has 49 rooms, 28 with a private open-air hot spring bath, open-air communal baths, and welcomes children of all ages.