Hoshino Resorts will hold a grand reopening of its hot spring ryokan “KAI Matsumoto” in Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture, on August 4.
All 29 guest rooms will be completely renovated as local-themed rooms called “GAKU-no-Ma.” Every room will be equipped with speakers and an analog record player, allowing guests to choose their favorite record from audio sources connected to Matsumoto, and the headboards of the beds will feature art panels decorated with “Matsumoto Keisei-nuri,” a coating technique cultivated through guitar manufacturing in the city. Nineteen of the rooms will have open-air baths.
Inside the property, there will be large communal baths, open-air baths, and other facilities, offering eight types and thirteen variations of baths plus a sauna, so guests can enjoy a wide variety of bathing experiences. A wine bar will be created as a “third place” that is neither guest room nor dining hall, proposing time to relax while selecting favorite labels from a lineup of wines produced in the Shinshu (Nagano) region.
After the renovation, the ryokan will serve Italian cuisine at dinner, built around pairings with Shinshu wines. The course will be composed mainly with olive oil rather than layered sauces, and the first dish will be a small appetizer called “Stuzzichini,” served in a plate shaped like a piano.
