How much do you like tea? If the answer is ‘not at all’ you can probably stop reading this review. Kai Enshu is a delightful, surprising and compact onsen hotel which is to tea what Burgundy vineyards are to wine and what remote Scottish distilleries are to single-malt whisky. The caffeinated drink is everywhere and is everything here. If it was possible for a hotel to speak, Kai Enshu would say ‘would you like a cup of tea?’ or, on occasion, ‘would you like a relaxing onsen bath, followed by a cup of tea?’ Whatever you’re doing and wherever you are within the hotel’s sleek and stylish walls, the t-word is never far away.
Which is no bad thing! Tea here is a very centred, unhurried quasi-spiritual ritual. It’s about appreciating the drink’s subtleties, understanding its provenance and stilling your mind in the moment. Quite different from chinning a milky mug of PG Tips, then. The fact that the hotel, located on the shores of the shockingly picturesque Lake Hamana, is elegant, supremely comfortable and charming helps a lot. Crucially the staff also really know a lot about tea (and talk about it in a very winning, adorably deferential way).
Also, the food is excellent. And that’s not a given. A lot of high-end hotels in Japan specialise in a kind of tedious Japanese-French hybrid that delivers neither the subtlety of the former or the rich sauciness of the latter. Kai Enshu knocks out a ‘standard’ kaiseki meal which genuinely brought a smile to my face. It’s a punchy set menu, elegantly presented, featuring exceptional dishes, spotlighting regional delicacies (including eels, fished out from the waters surrounding the hotel). Each of the courses demonstrated a true understanding of the ingredients and advanced culinary technique. The dining room itself is a dream: one low-lit mirror-lined hall, looking out onto the calm waters of the lagoon. Breakfast (which is served in Japanese tea boxes) is also a highlight, featuring augmented classics like miso soup studded with locally sourced clams.
The dining room’s dusky, mellow mood permeates the whole of Kai Enshu. Corridors and carpets are various shades of grey, with gentle light diffused through paper fixtures. The furniture is wooden, low to the ground and very sleek. All the rooms look out onto the water and have a traditional layout, featuring futons on raised wooden platforms, surrounded by fresh and fragrant tatami mats. There's also a nice kitchen area for you to make your pre-bed and post-sleep pots of tea (don't worry - each type of tea is clearly labelled). Special suites, featuring private en suite onsen baths, are available too.
The communal baths themselves, located (fittingly) by the side of an on-site tea field, are simple, spacious and a pleasure to use. We took a soak in the indoor and outdoor tubs and felt relaxed and not in the least bit awkward. Sitting outside afterwards, with a fresh cup of the green stuff, watching the sun set from one of the field's cosy outdoor seating areas, was a priceless experience.
Finally, Kai Enshu’s staff really do deserve a special mention. It would be easy for them to have rolled their eyes at us, galumphing tea-illiterate foreigners with no knowledge of Hamamatsu or even Shizuoka. But instead they were patient, attentive and genuinely happy to get an opportunity to explain the town and its appeal to outsiders. If you’re interested in going beyond the obvious in Japan, and experiencing something charming, ideosyncratic and relaxing, then Kai Enshu might just be your cup of tea (green) tea.
Neighbourhood
Hamamatsu sits on the edge of the shimmering Hamana Bay, a tranquil and very beautiful lagoon known for its calm waters, oyster and eel farming. There’s something about the quality of the sunsets here that really does hit different. Around Uchiura Bay, you'll find a charismatic jumble of seaside promenades, peaceful cycling routes, and local markets. It’s also - surprisingly - home to Japanese post-war miracle companies Yamaha and Honda—meaning for all of its natural beauty, Hamamatsu also does feel like a place that’s plugged into the wider world.
Nearby
Pal Pool An extremely charming, thoroughly old-school pleasure park overlooking one corner of the bay.
Hamanako Orgel Museum Accessible via a cable car ride (with stunning views) from the hotel, this is a brilliant collection of bizarre German music boxes. Concerts take place every hour are well worth experiencing for the sheer weirdness factor.
Unagi Takahashiya Eel is an extremely famous dish in Hamamatsu, and this restaurant, just a short walk from Kai Enshu, is arguably one of the city’s best purveyors of it.