From the moment you arrive at Hidatei Hanaougi, you will sense immediately that this is a unique and special ryokan. The lobby features striking architecture and decor, enveloping guests within the deep warm hues of natural wood in its pillars, beams, flooring, and lattice-style ceiling. The beautiful natural wood found throughout the ryokan in its lobby, halls, and guest rooms comes from precious Japanese trees such as Jindai cedar, Yoshino cedar, and Jindai zelkova.

As you continue to explore Hidatei Hanaougi, you will notice a seamless blend of traditional ryokan aesthetics and innovative modern style. Tatami mats and floor cushions provide welcome touches of tradition, while modern sofas, chairs, and tables are designed to match the natural feel of the overall decor of the ryokan. Wood and stone often appear in a natural state, as you will find at the first floor footbath, which you can enjoy from a long smooth wooden seat that looks out over the stones, trees, and plants of the inner courtyard.

Guests of all ages are welcome at Hidatei Hanaougi. The ryokan is popular with families, couples, and solo travelers, with every effort made to ensure the comfort and privacy of guests. A dedicated room attendant will take care of you and your room throughout your stay, including welcoming you to the ryokan when you arrive and seeing you off personally when it is time to bid farewell.

Guest rooms at Hidatei Hanaougi are works of art crafted with great care, creative energy, and expertise. In keeping with local traditions of artisanal woodworking and reverence for nature, these rooms feature the abundant use of particularly beautiful wood from highly-prized Japanese trees. As you relax in your room, take time to let your eyes wander over the varied hues of warm natural wood  that appear everywhere from doors and pillars to ceiling lattices, tables, chairs, and lampshades. Your guest room is fitted with comfortable Western-style chairs, tables, and twin beds alongside traditional Japanese features like sliding doors and tatami mats. 

Hidatei Hanaougi is blessed with its own private hot springs, from which it draws natural hot spring water from 1,200 meters underground to feed its onsen baths. Your guest room at the ryokan includes a private balcony with an outdoor rotemburo onsen bath constructed entirely out of wood. All guests also have access to the large public bath, which includes an indoor bathing area and outdoor rotemburo. Take some time to relax in the rich silky onsen waters of Hidatei Hanaougi, said to be the secret to beautiful skin.

* The room assigned may vary depending on availability. Facilities may differ from those listed, and in some cases, the room may not include an open-air bath.

Dinner at Hidatei Hanaougi is a private affair, held in a beautifully-appointed dining room reserved just for you. Meals are served kaiseki-style in courses of intricately prepared dishes that are as beautiful to look at as they are delicious to eat. The emphasis here is on locally-sourced seasonal ingredients including wild vegetables and mushrooms along with trout and ayu sweetfish from nearby streams and seafood delicacies from the Sea of Japan. Local sake is also available to enjoy with your meal.

And of course there is the region’s famous Hida beef, famous throughout Japan for its incredible flavor and texture. Hida beef comes exclusively from Kuroge Wagyu cattle raised in Gifu Prefecture (Hida is the old name for this part of Gifu Prefecture) and it is widely considered to be one of the finest varieties of beef available. Delicately marbled without any excess fat, sweet yet savory, and textured just right to melt in your mouth—you’ve never had anything like it.

After a restful night in your beautiful guest room, wake up to start your morning right with a full cooked breakfast at Hidatei Hanaougi. As with dinner, your meal will be served in the privacy and comfort of your own dining room.

For your morning meal, you can choose either a Japanese-style or Western-style breakfast. Both are made using local seasonal ingredients for a balanced and flavorful experience. The Japanese breakfast includes a special Takayama specialty known as Hoba Miso, made from grilling mushrooms and other delicacies with miso and green onions on a magnolia leaf. 

After checkout, you will visit the Kazehikaru gallery shop in Takayama to observe a master woodcarver from the local area as he transforms raw wood into fine art. The Hida region has long been famed for producing a broad range of exquisite woodwork, from intricate wall art to refined tableware. You can see particularly striking pieces crafted by local artisans in the uniquely attractive showspace of the Kazehikaru gallery shop.

To help you visualize how such artistic creations emerge from natural sources like raw wood, master woodcarver Ayayuki Kosaka will provide a live demonstration of his carving techniques. Equipped with the tools of his trade including different-size chisels and specialized knives, No two pieces of wood are exactly alike, so Kosaka takes his time to read into the unique grain, texture, and hardness of each piece, working with natural qualities of the medium instead of pushing against it as he shapes his creation. 

The shapes that emerge from the wood are truly extraordinary. Intricacy in detail requires delicate yet precise execution in order to create patterns such as the asanoha (hemp leaf), which is formed by a series of tessellated hexagons. Feel free to speak with the master about his passion for woodcarving, asking any question you have about this fascinating artisanal tradition and the forests that nourish it.

After your woodcarving experience, you will proceed to the second floor tearoom for a tea ceremony with the shop’s owner. She is a master in the style of tea ceremony known as Sowa, which was founded by Hida-Takayama samurai and tea master Sowa Kanamori (1584-1657). While tea ceremonies are traditionally conducted in the formal seiza kneeling position, tables and chairs are provided for Sowa tea ceremonies at Kazehikaru to create a more relaxed experience.

In a timeless series of serene pauses and elegant movements, the tea master will brew the matcha for you using wooden and porcelain implements made by local artisans. When ready, your matcha will be served with seasonal Japanese sweets that perfectly complement the flavor and texture of the tea. The master will then show you how to brew matcha yourself using the special locally-produced implements. Handling these instruments yourself is the bestonly way to truly appreciate the quality of the craftsmanship and the warmth of their creators. 

As you stroll through the town of Takayama, gazing up at the surrounding mountains and forests, it will perhaps seem unsurprising that the natural beauty of this place can inspire artistic and artisanal innovation. Through your visit to Kazehikaru for encounters with a tea master and master woodcarver, however, you will begin to understand how deep this inspiration goes, influencing those who shape natural materials like wood into works of art as well as those who create more beauty in forms like the Sowa tea ceremony.

Your stay at Hidatei Hanaougi will give you the opportunity to relax in a stylish comfortable room, lounge in onsen baths, and dine on delicious gourmet food in a luxurious modern ryokan. The longer you stay, however, the more you may find yourself examining the colors and textures of the extraordinary wood in the ryokan, reflecting on the care and craftsmanship at the heart of this beautiful mountainous region’s warm traditions of hospitality.