🌿 From the Road: KAI Akiu – Where the View Is the Decoration

From the Road: Tohoku in Four Movements

Our day began at Hoshino Resorts KAI Akiu, tucked into the hills outside Sendai. It’s a ryokan that invites stillness before the road unfurls north toward Naruko.

We’ve stayed at several Hoshino Resorts—from Karuizawa to Iki Island to Okinawa—but this one, KAI Akiu, may be the most quietly dazzling. It’s a ryokan, not a hotel, and it feels it: hushed hallways, tatami underfoot, and a design so minimalist that the view through its enormous windows becomes the only decoration you need.

Our room overlooks a deep river valley—today painted in fiery shades of red and gold. It’s hard to look away. Dinner last night was astonishing: flavor pairings that sound improbable but somehow turn out unforgettable. The chefs here are fearless, and it works.

This morning we slipped into the outdoor onsen, surrounded by stones and trees, with the river murmuring below. Pure bliss. Even the terrace has a hot-spring foot bath, where you can sit and listen to the water rush beneath the mossy hillside.

Sometimes luxury isn’t about excess—it’s about silence, nature, and a perfect view framed like art.