Aomori: Hoshino Resorts KAI Tsugaru
A winter escape in Aomori at the Hoshino Resorts KAI Tsugaru, an amazing boutique ryokan full of local culture.
In Owani onsen, a rural area of Aomori, is Hoshino Resorts KAI Tsugaru, a fantastic retreat that lets guests dive into the local, Tsugaru culture.
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 their KAI Kaga resort while visiting Kanazawa, their KAI Sengokuhara resort while visiting Hakone, as well as others.
While traveling around Aomori in the winter of 2021, I was able to get another chance to stay at one of their locations.
How to get there
We took the Ou Line limited express train from Aomori Station to Owani Onsen Station. Owani Onsen Station is a very local station, and a Hoshino Resorts KAI Tsugaru van will come and pick you up if you tell them when you will arrive.
As you check-in, you can schedule your meals (2 time options per meal) and schedule any activities. We did one, which was to have a drink in an igloo outside (top image), an activity that they only offer in the winter. In the summer, the area transforms into a lake with lanterns.
The Owani Onsen area is very local and not really convenient without a car, but it’s fine since the purpose of going to these types of ryokans is to relax at the resort. And this one allows that just fine.
The lobby and performance area
Library lounge and gift shop
Hoshino Resorts KAI Tsugaru, like other locations in this line, is focused on providing a local experience. A lot of the decor is from the area, using traditional patterns and techniques.
Tsugaru Koginzashi patterns decorate the room and resort
For example, the diamond-like pattern in decorations in the rooms and around the resort, as well as in the lighting in the halls, are called Tsugaru Koginzashi. It’s a traditional embroidery pattern devised by local farmers and primarily used on indigo fabrics, that’s been passed down through generations in the area.
Aomori’s Nebuta lantern decorations
After dinner, a traditional shamisen performance in the local style was performed by national champion Kohei Shibuya and a resident student of his. I have to say that they were impressive - a clip of their performance is in my video.
Rooms
We stayed in the Japanese-style Room TB2, a room that measures between 64㎡ big with 2 beds, a living room, bathroom with shower (you probably won’t need it).
Sleeping area of the room
The living room area
Bathroom
The Hot Spring
What makes Hoshino Resorts KAI Tsugaru’s onsen especially unique is the apples floating in the water. Aomori is known for apples, and they help give off a pleasant, sweet scent as you soak in the bath.
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 Tsugaru’s onsen water is from the Owani hot spring and is pretty clear in color. They report that their water has sodium, chloride, and sulfate.
This combination is said to help in areas such as protecting the skin from drying out, accelerating the body’s natural healing process, and coating the body like a veil to warm up and moisturize the skin.
Public indoor onsen bath area
Dining
Like most ryokan stays, Japanese kaiseki meals are included. Hoshino Resorts KAI Tsugaru’s meals are served in the dining hall that has separated rooms.
Like every other Hoshino Resorts KAI resort, this location had amazing food.
Aomori prefecture is known for maguro (tuna), and we opted to go for the special maguro kaiseki course.
It included dishes such as maguro akami (lean) and chutoro (medium fatty) sashimi, sushi, negima (maguro and green onion) hot pot, Aomori-grown rice cooked perfectly in an earthware pot, a maguro ochazuke set that you can adjust according to taste, and a bunch more. We also made sure to order some Aomori nihonshu, or sake, since the prefecture is also known for that.
Delicious dinner. Some pics are below.
Breakfast was also great and was centered on kaiyaki miso, a local dish where scallops are marinated in miso, cooked in its shell, and topped with lightly beaten raw egg.
I enjoyed my stay at the Hoshino Resorts KAI Tsugaru and recommend it to anyone traveling in the area. It’s a perfect place to go to for a retreat.
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