Above: An onsen in the newly renovated Nishimuraya Honkan, a ryokan in the town of Kinosaki. The Gora Kadan ryokan in Hakone. Located inside the national park that is home to Mount Fuji, it is less ...

Cultural immersion is an often-used construct to describe the pleasure of surrounding oneself entirely in the culture of the region one is visiting. In Japan, immersion is often quite literal, thanks ...

Certain kinds of accommodation offer a window into the national soul. Step onto the flagstones of an ancient English inn, into the pine-panelled cosiness of an Alpine rifugio or beyond the gates of an ...

The 41-year-old is talking about the town of Ginzan Onsen, a popular winter destination in Japan’s Yamagata Prefecture. For Nakata, the importance of the region goes beyond beauty. He’s brought us ...