THE FREQUENT FLIER JAPAN
TRAVELIFE MAGAZINE SEEKING
Beauty
On a spontaneous weekend trip to Tokyo, CHRISTINE CUNANAN checks into one of Japan’s top ryokan and finds a nice surprise
At the very end of February, with snow still falling, I flew to Tokyo on the spur-of-the-moment, arriving late Thursday night on one of the last flights into Narita Airport and driving at maximum speed into the city to make it to a famous sushi restaurant before closing. And then I was back at the airport again on Monday morning to catch one of the first flights out of Japan.
MY IDEA OF A COOL DOWN This was a whirlwind of a trip. In three short days, I caught up with a neighbor for a tempura lunch and then actually had yakiniku dinners with two sets of friends – Friday night with old-timer Tokyoites who’d just spent four weeks in Hawaii, and Sunday night with friends from Manila who’d just finished the Tokyo Marathon. In between these meals, I spent the weekend at Asaba, an understated ryokan with 527 years of hospitality behind it, considered one of Japan’s best. It’s often said that Asaba in the Kanto region and Tawaraya in western Japan set the gold standard for all other ryokan in Japan. To get to Asaba, we drove two hours out of Tokyo to get to the Izu Peninsula where we were rewarded with the first whiffs of spring: it was a very cold day but we espied a postcard-perfect kilometer-long stretch of pink plum blossoms along the highway just as we were just about to enter the picturesque town of Shuzenji.
“The ryokan was simple and refined. To eyes accustomed to westernstyle luxury, it even borders on nondescript, with its stark lobby, subdued gardens and bare rooms. Nothing shouts at you although priceless traditional and contemporary artworks hang on the walls.”
IN A LEAGUE OF ITS OWN Asaba is a great favorite among Japanese connoisseurs for its graceful elegance and for its cuisine, which is best described as country cooking in the Kyoto style. The chef uses local ingredients to create a kaiseki dinner along traditional lines, but with some twists. Meanwhile, the ryokan itself is simple and refined. To eyes accustomed to western-style luxury, it may even border on nondescript, with its stark lobby, subdued gardens and bare rooms. Nothing shouts at you although priceless traditional and contemporary artworks hang on the walls – testaments to the owner’s impeccable aesthetic sensibilities. And here I encountered Asaba’s equally fine concept of service in the most pleasurable way.
Leaving our car with the porter at the entrance, we walked into the ryokan lobby to find our favorite artworks not in their usual places.
IN PURSUIT OF ART “Where is Lee Ufan’s work?” We asked the ryokan attendant who greeted us. Lee Ufan, a Korean who moved to Japan as a child, is now one of the world’s most respected modern artists. To inject some cheer into the dreariness of late winter, the ryokan owner had apparently replaced the usual mainstay art pieces, including the minimalist work of Lee Ufan, with antique screens painted with colorful flowers. She then asked in respectful Japanese: “Do you like Lee Ufan?” Lee Ufan is a great favorite of ours, and the prospect of seeing one of his iconic works in the lobby of Asaba was always extra incentive to book a stay here.
QUICK CHANGES Nothing else was said of this, however, and even we promptly forgot this passing conversation. So you can imagine our surprise upon entering our suite several minutes later to find one lady carefully rolling a scroll into a wooden box and then another one hanging a scroll by Lee Ufan in its place in the alcove of our suite’s main room. “We thought you would enjoy this scroll from the owner’s personal collection, since you like Lee Ufan,” one of the ladies said, her head bowed low. Then, without ever turning their backs, they gracefully crept out of the room, leaving us to enjoy the masterpiece they had left behind. n
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PHOTOS BY CHRISTINE CUNANAN.
E
ver since I can remember, my #Travelife has resembled a cruise ship route, following the sun and avoiding the cold all year round. Recently, however, I’ve taken to winter with surprising enthusiasm for someone who brings her fur coats out as soon as the leaves start falling on the maple trees.