Sekitei 庭園の宿 石亭 - Luxurious Onsen Ryokan near Miyajima
For our trip to Miyajima and Hiroshima from Tokyo, we stayed overnight at Sekitei (庭園の宿 石亭) which is nestled on a small hill overlooking Miyajima and the Seto Inland Sea. Besides its gorgeous Shakkei-style garden which borrows the scenery from nearby mountains and seas, the ryokan is also ranked in the Top 20 for its food on Tabelog in Hiroshima which is the main reason why we decided to stay here. We were picked up by the hotel near the Miyajimaguchi Station at 3pm which is the earliest you can check in and I would recommend checking in early so you can enjoy and explore the grounds a bit since the rates are not exactly cheap (~¥30,000 per person/night).
This is the view from the lounge which is accessible to all guests with a view of the koi pond in front and Miyajima in the background.
Sekitei is a rather small ryokan with 12 rooms in total where each has its own distinct design and views of the garden. When you make your reservation, you can choose which room you'd like and our room was called Oimatsu. It has such a tranquil view of the garden - I felt like I could just sit there and stare at it all day. The room was very spacious as it has a dining room, bedroom, study and even a hot bath on the second floor!
Service was impeccable from the start when we received our welcome treats with sakuramochi, sake ice cream and green tea.
After we took a soak in the outdoor onsen, we enjoyed the complimentary sake tasting in the lounge with 8 different kinds to choose from! We like the middle one which was 蓬莱鶴 so much, we got a bottle of it to go with our dinner and it was a sake produced right in Hiroshima. It wasn't expensive at all since we found it for sale in the city for ~¥1500 per bottle and it's only available in this part of Japan and seasonally only.
The second course was a variety of appetizers and the most memorable one would have to be the fresh clam in the middle which was very sweet and juicy.
Soup was served next along with noodles made from squid which was very interesting and delicious by the way.
Then we were presented with fresh sashimi on a rice scoop oddly enough but that is because Miyajima is well-known for producing rice scoops which are very popular as souvenirs.
The wagyu sirloin beef arrived still cooking on a heated rock and it was unforgettable with a melt-in-your-mouth texture.
This was a steamed sticky rice that reminded me of congee.
The finale ended appropriately with anago-meshi and it was an absolutely delight to eat!
The dessert was ice cream and fruits to help cleanse our palate after a long meal.
After a restful night, we weren't quite ready to say goodbye to this lovely oasis and enjoyed breakfast that was served in our room. We had each chosen a Japanese breakfast and Western breakfast - both of which contained a lot of food!
Access: Take the JR Sanyo Line to Miyajimaguchi Station and hotel pick-up and drop-off at Onoura or Miyajimaguchi Station. You can purchase the JR Rail Pass through my affiliated link here (there's no additional cost to you but I will make a commission if you click through and make a purchase)!
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