Shimoda Yamatokan 下田大和館 holds a very special place in my heart as the first Japanese onsen ryokan I stayed in. The website had built up such great expectations that I was prepared to be disappointed. The 2.5 hour train ride from Tokyo did its part to raise anticipation, with the picturesque coastline dotting the way from Atami. So when I stepped out of Izukyu Shimoda train station and the sea was nowhere in sight, my heart did a nervous flip.
Things looked more promising when the chartered bus provided by Yamatokan (just let them know your arrival time and get a free ride to the ryokan) covered a fair distance through the town via twists and turns. By fair, I mean there’s no way I could have walked from the train station to Yamatokan despite it being a 10-min ride. So yes, the one drawback of this place, is you either rely entirely on the limited operational timings of the chartered bus to get to the station and back, or hop on a taxi. I would say the ryokan charms more than compensate for this little inconvenience.
First-timers doing a one-night stay at Yamatokan will be content exploring the ryokan, luxuriating in its beautiful facilities and surroundings. The moment I stepped on to the porch, I was warmly greeted and eased into the huge reception area overseeing the ocean, flanked by cliffs in the distant. Tea and small bites served to keep my mouth occupied as my hungry eyes took in the scenic sight while the service staff delivered luggage to the room with silent efficiency. My first experience of the legendary Japanese hospitality!
Checking in, I realised the same gorgeous view, my personalised postcard reality, was what I would face for the next 20 hours. There’s even an accompanying balcony with lounging chairs perfect for churning daydreams and night fantasies. Oh, this is the romance of my life! Sis interrupted my reverie to ask what those moving black fins spotted in the beach waters were. Are they sharks, she asked innocently. Surfers, darling! And we laughed and laughed, before settling down languorously to make a pot of tea and finished the (more!) little cakes we found in the room. What fun it was too, to roll around the spacious tatami room. We heaved sighs and sighs of pleasure. We totally lucked out choosing this ryokan on a whim!
It was only 4pm when we decided on a stroll on the surfer paradise that’s the pristine Tatado beach. The ryokan had a direct connector leading to the beach front for quick access. So it was a very pleasant hour of sinking feet into soft white sand, running into waves to pick sea shells, checking out cute sharks, oops surfers and meandering from one point to another, enjoying the breeze. Apart from surfers, flaneurs like us were far and few on the beach.
Next up were the public baths we were too shy to go beyond examining the facilities for the actual strip down. Our idea of a relaxing time was simply stretching our limbs on the nearby public (and free) massage chairs that come with the impressive ocean view (everything here does!). It was peaceful and quiet,here, apart from the occasional bather. Can it get any more blissful than this?
Apparently, yes. The stakes were constantly being raised. I chose dinner to be served at 6.30pm in our room and we were promptly treated to a visual feast that tasted even better. It was that night in Yamatokan that we know Kinmedai (alfonsino) and fall in love with its delicate, flaky, white flesh.
I was too happy to fall asleep immediately after the service staff had rolled out the futons. I remembered wanting to hold on to the moment and prolong this contentment. So I sat out in the balcony listening to the waves - a bob, a crash, a splash, a spill – in tandem to the sis’ gentle snores with the twinkling stars above. I can bear with anything, so long as I get to return here and savour such a moment again! That was my last thought before I fell asleep.
Waking up to the waves’ hypnotic rhythm bestows on one a tremendous sense of tranquility. Refreshed, purged, cleansed, we were ready to…attack breakfast.
Yamatokan left such an enduring impression that we returned subsequently in 2009 and 2012 and splurged on rooms with private open air baths. It’s another level of contentment and bliss (and luxury) taking dips in the balcony onsen in your room any time you wish with the sea before you.
Service and food quality have been pretty consistent the last three times we were there. The one big, but no-big deal-change: they have since moved to serving dinner at their in-house restaurant. If you buy that the bigger grills means the better to BBQ your beef and abalone, this is worth forsaking room service. They used to convert 10% of your final bill into discount vouchers for future use (2-year validity). That has since dropped to 5% but I’m not going to quibble over any form of savings.
This doesn’t mean the ryokan is perfect. There’s only wifi in the reception. If you decide on a two-night stay, the place is pretty dead from 11am to 3pm, till the next batch of guests arrives. There’s absolutely nothing to do; nothing happening in the ryokan during this period. We learnt it the hard way. You are better off venturing beyond the tatami mats and the beach ie returning to the station point for some sight-seeing.
Shimoda Yamatokan下田大和館, our first love, thanks for setting the bar for future ryokan stays!
