Ryotei Ryokan YASUI, founded in 1872, is a long-established Japanese Restaurant Inn with a history dating back 150 years, located near Hikone Castle, a national treasure. Step onto the grounds and you'll find over 1300 m2 of well-maintained, beautifully-landscaped Japanese garden. Highlights include the historical stone pavements, and the tatami-floored corridors create a traditional Japanese atmosphere. Spend a blissful time in one of the exclusive limited rooms, only nine in total.

Top Five Reasons Why You Should Stay in a Hotel

One of the concerns when traveling with children is the food. At YASUI, you can have meals in your room, so you do not have to worry about your surroundings even if your children are a little rambunctious. In addition, the spacious Japanese-style and Japanese-Western tatami rooms are safe for infants to crawl and otherwise move around in without risk of falling. Relax with your family and relieve any travel fatigue.

YASUI's cuisine is prepared using carefully selected seasonal foods, as well as ingredients chosen handpicked by the chef, who visits the market and makes a selection with a strict eye for quality. Created to maximize the appeal of fresh, locally-produced ingredients, the dishes are exquisite, prepared with one word in mind: "delicious.” Enjoy the special cuisine of the famed Japanese ryokan with carefully selected ingredients, including Omi Beef, a Japanese wagyu brand that Shiga Prefecture is particularly proud of.

Each of the differently-styled nine rooms comes with a unique view of the gardens and includes a sunken hearth and a bedroom with two tatami spaces and a bed, a special room with a hinoki bath, with four rooms of the new building consisting of two Japanese rooms and a Japanese cypress bath; there are even rooms where you can “dine-in.” Other rooms include those with a brazier on the veranda, some with a bed instead of Japanese futon, rooms with a working space, those with only a shower booth instead of a bathtub, and those where meals are served in a private dining room, etc., depending on your preference.

Soothe your travel fatigue in the spacious public bath and adjacent open-air bath. The hot water pumped up from 300 meters below the ground is gentle on the skin, and a leisurely soak in the hot water will bring you an interlude of bliss. Those with small children who find it difficult to use the large bathhouse may prefer to choose a room with a Japanese cypress bathtub.

Only a 10-minute walk from Yasui, you can find the Ginza-gai bus stop. From here, take the Hikone Castle Town Round Bus to visit tourist attractions such as Hikone Castle, Ryutanji Temple, Yumekyobashi Castle Road, and others. Hikone Castle is the former residence of the Ii family, feudal lords who held important positions in the Edo shogunate and supported the reign of the Tokugawa family. The castle tower, annexed turrets and Tamon Turret are designated as national treasures, and their beautiful appearance is a must-see.