The lovely Shinsen ryokan is nestled serenely in the rolling hills on the flanks of Mt. Aso, in the center of the main Japanese island of Kyushu.
With its mix of tradition and comfort, Shinsen gives its guests a taste of old Japan, while offering all the luxuries and conveniences of the modern world. All the rooms feature beautiful Japanese gardens with artfully arranged rocks, trees and raked gravel, as well as high-end furnishings and amenities.
Kumi Sato, the okami, or proprietress of the ryokan, says, “Our goal is to offer the highest quality of traditional hospitality, along with a light and playful atmosphere to help her guests relax and leave their serious lives and worries behind.” Arising from this philosophy is the most striking feature of Shinsen – the individuality of the rooms. Each has its own unique style and personality, presented with flair, and outfitted with the highest quality furnishings and decorated with beautiful art, traditional ceramics and other crafts.
This and the staff’s unsurpassed omotenashi, or traditional Japanese hospitality, have earned Shinsen a reputation as one of the finest ryokan in Kyushu, drawing repeat customers from around the world. The Satos have formed numerous close relationships with their guests, many of whom come seeking a more authentic Japanese experience in regional Japan.
Above every entrance at Shinsen is a shimenawa, a braided rope often seen all over Japan at New Year’s, and traditionally invites the gods to live in the houses. As per Takachiho tradition, Shinsen keeps the shimenawa up all year round, to bring prosperity and purity to the ryokan and its guests.
With its beautiful surroundings, immersed in ancient local culture and timeless omotenashi, Shinsen is a very special place, which The Ryokan Collection is proud to welcome as a member.
Rooms
ROOMJapanese-Western Style Room with Japanese Garden and Open-air Bath Villa - Manyo
One of Shinsen’s five luxurious suites in free-standing villas with interior designs tha…
ROOMJapanese-Western Style Room with Japanese Garden and Open-air Bath Villa - Tsukuyomi
One of Shinsen’s five luxurious suites in free-standing villas with interior designs tha…
ROOMJapanese-Western Style Room with Garden and Open-air Bath Villa - Waraku
One of Shinsen’s five luxurious suites in free-standing villas with interior designs tha…
ROOMJapanese-Western Style Room with Open-air Bath Villa - Kumano
One of Shinsen’s five luxurious suites in free-standing villas with interior designs tha…
ROOMJapanese-Western Style Room with Open-air Bath Villa - Hourai
One of Shinsen’s five luxurious suites in free-standing villas with interior designs tha…
ROOMMain Building Maisonnette Suite with Open-air Bath - Aisome
One of 4 rooms in the main building that feature Shinsen’s signature gardens, with grade…
ROOMMain Building Japanese Style Room with Open-air Bath - Asuka
One of 4 rooms in the main building that feature Shinsen’s signature gardens, with grade…
ROOMMain Building Japanese Style Room with Open-air Bath - Shara
One of 4 rooms in the main building that feature Shinsen’s signature gardens, with grade…
ROOMMain Building Western Style Room with Open-air Bath - Ruri
One of 4 rooms in the main building that feature Shinsen’s signature gardens, with grade…
ROOMAnnex Japanese-Western Style with Cypress Bath - Tachibana
The room is the newest in annex area, called "Kanba"It .has a beautiful cypress bath and…
ROOMAnnex Japanese-Western Style with Cypress Bath - Toyotama
The room is the newest in annex area, called "Kanba"It .has a beautiful cypress bath and…
ROOMJapanese-Western Style Room with Japanese Garden and Open-air Bath Villa - Manyo
One of Shinsen’s five luxurious suites in free-standing villas with interior designs that reflect and reference the history of the surrounding area. The room has a big, beautiful rotemburo open-air bath, and all have individual designs that contribute to their unique sense of place. Manyo is spacious 100 sq. meter suites suitable for up to six guests relaxing in comfort. They feature a nicely balanced mix of Japanese- and Western-style accommodations, each with one room with twin beds and another with futons on tatami mats in a big, 10-mat living room.
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ROOMJapanese-Western Style Room with Japanese Garden and Open-air Bath Villa - Tsukuyomi
One of Shinsen’s five luxurious suites in free-standing villas with interior designs that reflect and reference the history of the surrounding area. The room has a big, beautiful rotemburo open-air bath, and all have individual designs that contribute to their unique sense of place. Tsukiyomi is spacious 100 sq. meter suites suitable for up to six guests relaxing in comfort. They feature a nicely balanced mix of Japanese- and Western-style accommodations, each with one room with twin beds and another with futons on tatami mats in a big, 10-mat living room.
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ROOMJapanese-Western Style Room with Garden and Open-air Bath Villa - Waraku
One of Shinsen’s five luxurious suites in free-standing villas with interior designs that reflect and reference the history of the surrounding area. The room has a big, beautiful rotemburo open-air bath, and all have individual designs that contribute to their unique sense of place. Waraku is a suite devoted to the concept of playfulness for adults, and features a game room with various games such as unique chess, go, cards and others, as well as a guitar and other relaxing play items. The bathtub has an unusual quarter-circle shape set into a wide wooden veranda, enclosed by floor-to-ceiling windows that can be opened to make a true rotemburo, overlooking a pretty Japanese garden with huge boulders standing guard. The room is a spacious 80 sq. meters, and can accommodate up to three guests.
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ROOMJapanese-Western Style Room with Open-air Bath Villa - Kumano
One of Shinsen’s five luxurious suites in free-standing villas with interior designs that reflect and reference the history of the surrounding area. The room has a big, beautiful rotemburo open-air bath, and all have individual designs that contribute to their unique sense of place. Kumano is 60 sq. meter rooms with double beds, which can be converted into triples on request. It has lovely gardens, dominated by substantial boulders and finished with raked gravel. Kumano, is a double that is convertible to a single. Its interior emphasizes earthy brown and fresh green to evoke the surrounding mountainous nature, and in the garden is an ume Japanese plum tree, whose flowers, blossoming in March, herald the coming of spring. The bathtub, an unusual quarter-circle shape, is made of amakusa-ishi stone from the Kyoto district of Amakusa.
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ROOMJapanese-Western Style Room with Open-air Bath Villa - Hourai
One of Shinsen’s five luxurious suites in free-standing villas with interior designs that reflect and reference the history of the surrounding area. The room has a big, beautiful rotemburo open-air bath, and all have individual designs that contribute to their unique sense of place. Hourai is 60 sq. meter rooms with double beds, which can be converted into triples on request. It has lovely gardens, dominated by substantial boulders and finished with raked gravel. Hourai has white canopy beds, and its bath is an exceptionally beautiful seven-sided granite tub lined inside with swirly sandstone.
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ROOMMain Building Maisonnette Suite with Open-air Bath - Aisome
One of 4 rooms in the main building that feature Shinsen’s signature gardens, with graded gravel, boulders and multi-seasonal foliage. Interesting works of art by local artists join the elegant antique Japanese and Chinese ceramics and paintings that grace these rooms. This room is a 60 sq. meter maisonnette suite, suitable for two or three groups of guests – up to six persons – who want to stay together in comfort. The suite features a big oval stone bath, a large garden, and a floor-level living room table with sunken floor for legs, as well as an inviting massage chair.
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ROOMMain Building Japanese Style Room with Open-air Bath - Asuka
One of 4 rooms in the main building that feature Shinsen’s signature gardens, with graded gravel, boulders and multi-seasonal foliage. Interesting works of art by local artists join the elegant antique Japanese and Chinese ceramics and paintings that grace these rooms. Asuka is Japanese-style rooms, 55 sq. meter, suitable for up to five guests. The living room features a view of the garden beyond through floor-to ceiling windows overlooking the bath. This room converts, Japanese-style, into the bedroom, and guests sleep in cozy futon on fragrant tatami mats. Both rooms have a set of steps that give access to a spacious, private sun deck, and the baths are big, beautiful tubs made of fine-grained Hinoki wood.
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ROOMMain Building Japanese Style Room with Open-air Bath - Shara
One of 4 rooms in the main building that feature Shinsen’s signature gardens, with graded gravel, boulders and multi-seasonal foliage. Interesting works of art by local artists join the elegant antique Japanese and Chinese ceramics and paintings that grace these rooms. Shara is Japanese-style rooms, 55 sq. meters, suitable for up to five guests. The living room features a view of the garden beyond through floor-to ceiling windows overlooking the bath. This room converts, Japanese-style, into the bedroom, and guests sleep in cozy futon on fragrant tatami mats. Both rooms have a set of steps that give access to a spacious, private sun deck, and the baths are big, beautiful tubs made of fine-grained Hinoki wood.
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ROOMMain Building Western Style Room with Open-air Bath - Ruri
One of 4 rooms in the main building that feature Shinsen’s signature gardens, with graded gravel, boulders and multi-seasonal foliage. Interesting works of art by local artists join the elegant antique Japanese ceramics and paintings that grace these rooms.
Ruri is a Western-style room, 60 sq. meters and suitable for two guests, featuring comfortable easy chairs and big twin beds. This room features a big bath made of green-glazed ceramic, set into a spacious deck. (Mrs. Sato, the proprietress, says many guests feel like a goldfish while bathing in it.)
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ROOMAnnex Japanese-Western Style with Cypress Bath - Tachibana
The room is the newest in annex area, called "Kanba"It .has a beautiful cypress bath and a tatami room suitable for small group relaxing in comfort. Warm your heat in the room where you can view lovely Japanese garden in Kanba.
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ROOMAnnex Japanese-Western Style with Cypress Bath - Toyotama
The room is the newest in annex area, called "Kanba"It .has a beautiful cypress bath and a tatami room suitable for small group relaxing in comfort. Warm your heat in the room where you can view lovely Japanese garden in Kanba.
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FACILITIES & SERVICES
Entrance & Lobby
All around Shinsen’s grounds are traditional gardens, graced by a great stone stupa, a stone pa…
Dining
The dining rooms in the main building have traditional seating, with low horigotatsu tables wit…
Cuisine
The cuisine at Shinsen is exquisite kaiseki ryori traditional Japanese haute cuisine – healthy …
Entrance & Lobby
All around Shinsen’s grounds are traditional gardens, graced by a great stone stupa, a stone pagoda and other interesting stonework. Next to the front desk is the shop, which offers yukata cotton summer kimono, which the guests can use free of charge; the staff are delighted to help with putting them on and wearing them properly. The shop also sells unique kaleidoscopes, made of Arita-yaki exclusively in Miyazaki, on the east side of the island of Kyushu, and ceramics and other artworks by local artists, as well as high quality brushes for cosmetics and shodo calligraphy. In the entrance hall of the main building is another playful element that adds charm and atmosphere to the ryokan – a sui kin kutsu. When water is poured onto the rocks with a little scoop, it emits a lovely musical sound as the water drips onto a large flower pot concealed inside.
Dining
The dining rooms in the main building have traditional seating, with low horigotatsu tables with leg wells in the floor for comfort. The view through the windows is optimized to be admired from floor level, a technique called Yukimi shoji – the diners look from the bottom half of the windows only. In addition, there are Western-style rooms and the Takachiho dining room, large tatami-floored space that can seat 26 people comfortably.
Mrs. Sato is a licensed sommelier, and she has stocked Shinsen’s cellar with a wide variety of wine and sake, as well as a selection of shochu, the delicious distilled beverage for which Kyushu is famous.
Cuisine
The cuisine at Shinsen is exquisite kaiseki ryori traditional Japanese haute cuisine – healthy and seasonal, with an emphasis on fresh vegetables and local produce, deliciously cooked and artistically presented. The meals are expertly prepared and served on gorgeous porcelain, including Arita-yaki, the famous pottery from northwestern Kyushu, as well as bone china and other fine ceramics.
Experience
Explore the Mystical Land and Cultures of TakachihoMore
Experience
Explore the Mystical Land and Cultures of Takachiho
Explore the Mystical Land and Cultures of Takachiho
Takachiho is located in Miyazaki Prefecture on Kyushu Island. Takachiho area is rich with nature, scenery, adventure and mystical legends. Roughly 1 million Japanese visitors visit Takachiho throughout the year, however, Takachiho is still unknown to the foreign crowd.
The land of Takachiho is steeped in Japanese mythology. Takachiho is notably the site of legend where the sun goddess of Shinto, Amaterasu hid herself in a cave because she was disturbed by her brother’s pranks, and other gods tried to let her out of the cave.
The phenomenon only happens generally from mid-September through late November, on days when there is a large differential between the minimum and maximum temperatures, which is called “unkai” (sea of clouds) is also a notable scenic site of Takachiho. It is believed that the god Ninigi-no-mikoto, who was descended to the earth upon the order of his grandmother, the sun goddess Amaterasu, landed on a thick layer of clouds enveloping the Takachiho Gorge.
During your trip to Takachiho, you may not only be able to see the otherworldly landscapes that Takachiho offers but also explore unknown traditional spots in this mythical land.
Visit the Mythical Gorge of Takachiho
Distance from nearest ryokan: 5 min by car from Shinsen
This spectacular gorge in Takachiho has formed over 100,000 years ago after eruptions from Mt. Aso, which is located near northern Miyazaki.
The abysses are complemented by vivid greenery in early summer and beautiful red-tinted leaves in autumn. You can walk and see the gorge both from above and below using paths and bridges around the river. You can also rent a boat at the south end and row along the river for an up-close look at the gorge and the 17 meters high Manai Falls, as water splashes into the river. If you love hiking, you can hike the perimeter of the gorge on the paved path that leads to Takachiho Shrine, which takes about 5 hours from the information center of the town.
Clear air and sacred atmosphere around Takachiho Gorge may make you feel like the goddesses truly live within this mystical land of Takachiho.
Visit to Traditional Dance, Takachiho Ya-kagura
Distance from nearest ryokan: 2 to 3 min by car from Shinsen
Ya-kagura simply means “night kagura” in Japanese. Kagura is a sacred dance rooted in shamanism, which celebrates the gods of Shinto. Kagura dances are performed across Kyushu Island, particularly in Miyazaki, where the gods of Shinto were believed to initially have descended from the heavens. In Takachiho, Ya-kagura has been performed for over 800 years.
Kagura dances generally consist of 33 verses in total performed from an evening until the next morning, but you can see a short version of these dances at Takachiho Shrine each night, which is located within 2 to 3 minutes from Shinsen by car. The ya-kagura performances at Takachiho Shrine are for free and take place for an hour starting at 20:00 every night.
Private Visit to the Artisan at Kagura Mask Making Studio Amaiwato Wood Carving
Distance from nearest ryokan: 15 min by car from Shinsen
The kagura masks are used in ya-kagura dance performances. Those kagura masks are made only by two craftsmen in town, Mr. Hiroaki Kudo and his son. The family has been passed down the tradition and skills from generation to generation.
It takes two whole days to carve one kagura mask from the thick wood using 20 different kinds of tools. Kagura masks are made from paulownia wood, which is very delicate and not easy to make with, yet paulownia wood has been used to make kagura masks for over 500 years.
At this private visit, Mr. Kudo will explain how to make kagura masks by giving you a demonstration of carving, and later, you can practice carving on paper as shown in the picture above.
Private Visit to Kai Tea Factory
Distance from nearest ryokan: 15 min by car from Shinsen
Takachiho is also home to people who seek to solve regional issues by creating economic cycles and sustainability within the region through businesses using local specialties. The agriculture and forestry system in Takachiho were recognized as a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System, which has been carried on until today. One of the local resources is tea.
While the majority of Japanese green teas are steamed, Kamairi Tea is a rare type of steamed tea made in a pan-fired method, which is developed in Kumamoto and especially in Miyazaki. Mr. Kai, a Japanese tea sommelier, is one of the leading persons in the tea processing industry in Takachiho whose vast range of tea plantations are located at 980 feet in altitude.
Although typical Kamairi Tea tastes the scent of grilled chestnuts and sweet aftertaste that are very fluid in your mouth, the Kamairi Tea made by Kai Tea Factory also has a greater aromatic richness and elegant aftertaste in your mouth. At this private visit, the tea factory tour is available upon making an appointment in advance through Shinsen.
Private Visit to Wara-Zaiku Takubo, The Traditional Shimenawa Rope-Making Studio
Distance from nearest ryokan: 10 min by car from Shinsen
Shimenawa is sacred ropes used for ritual purification that is usually displayed during the New Year’s holidays, but in Takachiho exclusively, they are displayed at the main entrance of buildings throughout the year. On every New Year’s Day, they are replaced with new ones.
At the studio of “Wara-zaiku (straw-crafting) Takubo”, craftsmen silently work on creating shimenawa.
Wara-zaiku Takubo was established around 60 years ago. Mr. Kai is a skilled craftsman who makes various types of traditional crafts in Takachiho. During the off-season for rice farming, his family originally started to use straws to make shimenawa. The number of wara-zaiku craftsmen has decreased in Japan, but Mr. Kai believes the wara-zaiku tradition lives within this region, Takachiho.
Next to the rope-making studio, the crafts gallery is open to the public.
It is believed that shimenawa is protection to ward off evil spirits and bring in good. According to legend, shimenawa is derived from the story of the sun goddess Amaterasu when she hid herself in a cave. After she got out of the cave, other gods put a rope around the cave so that she could never enter again. The people in Takachiho display shimenawa at the entrance of their houses, because it represents their belief that they are living with gods.