Wanosato

The timber ceilings at this remote ryokan outside Takayama have uncut tree trunks running straight through them, and the walls in places are pressed earth, yet the comforts are thoroughly civilized. Minka-style guesthouses, a communal hearth that has stained the old beams to a deep black, cove-like baths, forest quiet. It holds a Michelin Key. Getting here is half the mood: four and a half hours from Tokyo, then a shuttle up into the mountains.