Shizuoka: Hoshino Resorts KAI Enshu
Next to Lake Hamana is the Kanzanji Onsen area, a removed area near Hamamatsu City. Right at the lakeside is Hoshino Resorts KAI Enshu, a luxury resort that is all about tea.
Hoshino Resorts is one of the most well known and sought after luxury hot spring and resort ryokan chains in Japan.
If you’ve looked around at my Japan travels on my blog or watched some of my videos on YouTube, you may know that I’m a fan of their KAI brand. I’ve been fortunate to have stayed at some of their resorts such as:
We took a road trip to Hamamatsu in the spring of 2022, and I was able to stay at their KAI Enshu location.
How to get there
We drove to the ryokan, but it’s possible to get there by train and bus.
From JR Hamamatsu Station’s North Exit, there’s an Enshu Railway Bus from Bus Terminal Platform No. 1, that’s bound for Kanzanji Onsen. The bus will take you to Hamanako Bay Street, and it’s about a minute or two to the hotel on foot.
The lobby
Hoshino Resorts KAI Enshu focuses on the local area, just like other locations in this line. Shizuoka Prefecture accounts for 40% of Japan’s green tea, so it’s only right that this resort is focused on it.
The resort itself is centered around the tea garden pictured at the top, and there’s tea at every turn inside the resort as well.
At the entrance of the main indoor lounge area are these fancy-looking, cold-brew green tea dispensers.
Tea Stand for cold-brew tea
Nearby is their Tea Cellar, a long counter with personal teapots and about 13 different tea leaves with pictogram “Tea Cards” that explain about the tea and provide brewing recommendations.
It’s self-serve and you can make yourself a pot of tea and take it anywhere in the resort to enjoy.
Tea Cellar with 13 different types of tea
One of the teas at the Tea Cellar
In the same area is their Tea Lounge Bicharaku, a library space with tables and an elevated space that looks over the tea garden and Lake Hamana.
Tea Lounge Bicharaku library
Activities
There are a number of activities that guests are able to take part in. One of them is their tea brewing experience.
Here, an instructor educates participants exactly how to brew their tea. Once everyone has successfully brewed their cup and finished drinking it, a challenge is presented.
Three different cold teas are presented, and one of them is the same type of tea as the hot one that everyone just brewed. The challenge is to guess which one that is. It’s harder than it sounds!
Tea Bar for the tea brewing experience
Tea at the tea brewing experience
Taste test at the tea brewing experience
Rooms
We stayed in the Western-style Room with Lake View TA2, a room that measures 35㎡ big with 2 beds in the main space and a bathroom with shower (you probably won’t need it because of the onsen).
Like all the rooms, it had a main window that looked directly out at Lake Hamana which was gorgeous.
Main area of the room
Sofa by the room window
Bathroom
The Hot Spring
There are two onsen hot spring baths at Hoshino Resorts KAI Enshu.
One has two tubs, an indoor and an outdoor one that’s pictured below. It’s set in a serene location, surrounded by nature, and has a running fountain of fresh water pouring in.
One of the two public onsen baths
The second bath also has an indoor tub, but the main outdoor tub is unique as it has baskets of tea floating in it. The tub itself is wooden and circular, and although it’s a bit small, having the tea in their will give off an aroma that gives you quite a unique onsen experience.
The water that flows through Japanese onsen hot springs vary and depend on where the water is coming from. Each has a slightly different combination of minerals carrying different benefits to the skin and body.
Hoshino Resorts KAI Enshu’s onsen water is from the Kanzanji hot spring and is pretty clear in color. They report that their water has sodium, calcium, chloride, and strong saline.
One of the benefits said to be provided by this combination is that the salts coat the body like a veil to warm up and moisturize the skin.
Dining
Like most ryokan stays, Japanese kaiseki meals are included. Hoshino Resorts KAI Enshu’s meals are served in a dining hall that has separated rooms.
Like every other Hoshino Resorts KAI resort, this location had great meals.
The Hamamatsu area is known for unagi, or eel, but because we had plans to eat that in Hamamatsu city, we opted to go for the Standard Seasonal Dinner option.
Delicious dinner. Some pics are below.
Breakfast was also good and staying with the tea concept, some of the main dishes were served in a box of tea on top of tea leaves.
This was another enjoyable stay at a Hoshino Resorts KAI location and recommend it to anyone traveling in the area, especially if they have an interest in tea.
If you’d like to watch a video of my stay there, please check it out below.
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