If you haven’t entered any dates, the rate shown is provided directly by the hotel and represents the cheapest double room (including tax) available in the next 60 days.
Prices have been converted from the hotel’s local currency (JPY61,818.18), via openexchangerates.org, using today’s exchange rate.
Sandwiched between belts of green rice-paddies, Japanese coastal hideaway Rakudo-An gives time-honoured tradition a craft-inspired makeover with its curated collection of local mingei(folk art), Tang and Yi Dynasty antiques, and specially commissioned contemporary pieces. This 120-year-old farmhouse – built to face the east as per the local Buddhist custom – comprises three elegant guest rooms, each inspired by natural materials (paper, silk and soil), a arty boutique and super-seasonal Italian restaurant. But the real feather in Rakudo-An’s rural cap is its ongoing commitment to the local community, both environmentally and culturally, so you can soak up Toyama’s spiritual climate with a clean, green conscience.
11am, but flexible, subject to availability. Earliest check-in, 3pm.
Prices
Double rooms from £344.43 (JPY68,000), including tax at 10 per cent.
More details
Rates include breakfast and a walking tour of the local village.
Also
In the hotel’s small boutique, you’ll find folk crafts, artworks and Toyama delicacies all produced by local makers.
Hotel closed
The hotel is closed every Tuesday, except for national holidays.
At the hotel
Boutique, reinterpreted ‘hijiri’ (sacred space), free WiFi throughout. In rooms: free bottled water, Toyama-made bath products, tea (black, Japanese and herbal) and coffee, Bluetooth speaker, and humidifier.
Our favourite rooms
The hotel's three rooms have their own unique character, though each is filled with folk crafts, antiques and contemporary art, and has a terrace with views over the paddy-peppered landscape of the Sankyo-son settlement. Serious art-buffs should opt for the Soil room for an exclusive peek of the – literally – earthy work by Yuko Hayashi.
Packing tips
You’ll want sensible shoes for ambling around the local village, and a camera, too; there’s enough interior-design inspiration here to warrant its own Pinterest board.
Also
There’s no spa, but in-room aromatherapy treatments (with oils extracted from Toyama's forest) can be arranged for approximately US$75 a person.
Children
Over-13s are welcome, but leave the little ones at home.
Sustainability efforts
Where to begin. Rakudo-An was born of a desire to preserve the crafts and cultures of the surrounding village settlement, hence, their initial revamp of this 120-year-old farmhouse was done using traditional methods and local materials. It didn’t stop there, though. Rather, their commitment to the Toyama community is an ongoing project. Not only do the owners donate two per cent of all accommodation fees to a fund dedicated to village-conservation activities, they also host conferences and events to forge connections among local stakeholders in order to gain National Trust status. Furthermore, they host study sessions for residents on sustainable tourism and biodiversity conservation. They also do their bit to support the maintenance of Kainyo (the surrounding trees), using its prunings for power generation and its fallen leaves in the kitchen. Speaking of which, all ingredients used at Il Clima are sourced from local fishmongers, farmers, and hunters, all waste is composted on the chef’s farm and glassware is made in collaboration with artist Takara Kinoshita, from upcycled bottles. Design-wise, Rakudo-An celebrates the region’s rich manufacturing heritage, and uses local crafts, furnishings and products throughout the rooms and communal spaces.
In line with the retreat’s Buddhist philosophy, all tables are equal, lined up with satisfying symmetry in front of paddy-framing windows.
Dress Code
Consider yourself a part of the art with origami-crisp folds and silken robes.
Hotel restaurant
While Rakudo-An’s restaurant, Il Clima, may be Italian in name and concept, dishes are unique to the region thanks to chef Yudai Ito’s use of hyper-local, seasonal ingredients (think fish straight off village fishermen’s boats, and meat and veggies farmed in the surrounding mountains) to craft seasonal dishes unique to the region. Depending on your rate, dinner here will consist of the regular tasting menu’s nine dishes or special menu’s 11 – consisting of multiple appetisers, pasta, risotto, meat or fish mains, dessert and coffee, all showcasing the best of the Toyama and Hokuriku regions. Our choice is the sake-rice risotto, a dish so special that you won’t be able to get it anywhere else in the world; pair it with sake made from the same Oyama-Nishiki-style grains.
Hotel bar
Not a bar as such, but in the corner of the lounge you’ll find a small spot dishing out local craft beers, sake and whiskey as well as fruit juices and light snacks.
Last orders
Lunch at Il Clima runs from 11.30am to 1pm, while dinner is served from 6pm to 8pm.
You’ll find rural Rakudo-An in the Tonami plain, sandwiched between the middle reaches of the Oyabe and Shogawa rivers and spread across the settlements and rice-paddies of western Toyama.
Planes
Toyama Airport is the closest to the hotel, just half-an-hour’s drive away, while Komatsu Airport is 50 minutes away. Both are domestic, so those coming from abroad should fly into Tokyo’s Haneda Airport and take a short connecting flight (one hour) to either. From here, Rakudo-An can arrange transfers for a fee.
Trains
Takagi Station is a 12-minute walk from Rakudo-An, which serves the Toyama Prefecture from north to south. Transfers from here can be organised for an additional charge.
Automobiles
riving can be convenient in the more rural parts of the country, but if you do go exploring, opt for toll roads and avoid driving into the cities as the traffic can make for a rather slow and stressful experience. There’s parking at the hotel, free for guests – just let them know how many spots you’ll need in advance.
Worth getting out of bed for
Being outside of the city is all part of Rakudo-An’s rural draw, and makes it a perfect spot for all things Zen. Find a meditation perch out in the garden or roll out your mat for a stretching session among the rice-paddies. A walking tour of the surrounding Sankyo-son village is included in the rate, but the hotel can also arrange a Bon-Temae tea ceremony, and a sound-healing Suzugami workshop, where participants will learn to make a Buddhism bell from small paper-like tin plates; or attend a make-your-own-body-oil class, which uses locally-sourced essential oils that draw on the power of the forest. Musicians will love the Japanese drum performance, Etchu Isami Taiko – an ancient tradition which dates back over 900 years. The hotel can organise trips to the Kuwano Shrine(the birthplace of this percussive art), where guests can learn how to play from the locals. And, if all that rat-a-tat-tatting has left you with an appetite, have the hotel’s concierge book you onto a noodle-making experience followed by lunch at a local farmhouse restaurant.
Local restaurants
You’ll find pint-sized Enkuu Tonami just five minutes north of the hotel, a calming space where guests can tuck into carefully-crafted seasonal dishes on the wooden bar overlooking the open kitchen, or downstairs in an oh-so-romantic private room. Otherwise head to Okado, a renovated ‘azumadachi’ farmhouse (much like the Rakudo-An) where the ancient Okado somen noodles (firm, smooth strings kneaded in the water of the Shogawa River) – which date back to the Edo period – take centre-stage.
Local cafés
Ichifuku literally translates to ‘a little happy time’, and that’s exactly what you’ll get here, alongside creamy cappuccinos, matcha cheesecake and pumpkin puddings, all to be consumed in front of a cosy wood-burning fire.
Local bars
Whiskey nerds should make a beeline for Cask, a dimly-lit joint which specialises in Japanese malts and sake. Or, to sample Toyama’s music scene, check out Bar Ten, a no-frills hangout for local musicians where the cocktails are strong, and the bass even stronger.
Every hotel featured is visited personally by members of our team, given the Smith seal of approval, and then anonymously reviewed. As soon as our reviewers have returned from this art-filled hotel among the Sankyo-son settlements and unpacked their local folk crafts and artisan tableware from the on-site boutique, a full account of their east-facing rural break will be with you. In the meantime, to whet your wanderlust, here's a quick peek inside Rakudo-An in Toyama…
There’s a rural renaissance brewing in the southwestern part of Toyama, where the serene Sankyo-son settlement spreads across lush green belts of paddy-fields in the shadow of the Ushidake mountain. Now, thanks to Rakudo-An, an 120-year-old farmhouse turned elegant art hotel, guests can experience the area’s rich cultural heritage in style, with three masterly rooms inspired by the natural materials of paper, silk and soil. Here, while mooching around the gardens, or zoning-out in the meditative common areas, you may come across the word ‘dotoku’, a local term – nay, philosophy – which illuminates the big ambitions of the small, sustainable stay; that is, to foster good karma through nurturing the local land, culture and community. This starts with design, where mingei (folk crafts), Tang and Yi Dynasty antiques, and specially commissioned contemporary art create a sense of beauty which resonates across time and borders. It follows in the restaurant, Il Clima, which showcases the region’s freshest seasonal produce. And peaks in the hotel’s carefully curated programme of activities – from village tours, to ancient drum rituals and noodle-making – allowing Toyama’s rich cultural heritage to be preserved, passed on, and translated into a sustainable blueprint for the future.
