The Best Places to Stay and Do in Shima

The spa at this remote Aman property in Ise-Shima National Park is fed by actual onsen water, which puts it in a different category from the average hotel wellness floor. Both outdoor pools draw from the same mineral-rich hot springs that the guest rooms do, so the line between spa treatment and just existing here gets pleasantly blurry. Vogue named it among the 100 best spas in the world, and the volcanic seclusion does most of the arguing.

Each of the 24 suites comes with its own private onsen bath, which tells you most of what you need to know about this resort in Ise-Shima National Park. Architect Kerry Hill gave it that rare quality of feeling completely contemporary and completely Japanese at the same time, with every room framing the gardens and Ago Bay beyond. The spa folds thermal-spring bathing into the program alongside kaiseki dinners. Michelin awarded it 3 Keys.

Eight rooms tucked into a destination restaurant on Ago Bay, a famously winding inlet that earns every photograph taken of it. The concept is "western ryokan," which here means French-inflected hospitality dressed in Western interiors but delivered with the quiet attentiveness Japan does better than anyone. Some rooms have private spring-fed baths, and the spa runs a thalasso pool filled with actual seawater from the bay outside. The Michelin Guide awarded it one Key.

Ago Bay stretches out below the balconies here, and on a calm evening the water does most of the decorating. This 50-suite resort in the Ise-Shima National Park keeps things restrained inside, letting panoramic views of the bay and surrounding forest do the heavy lifting. Two restaurants lean into the local seafood, and the spa, rooftop garden, and library lounge make a convincing case for never leaving the property at all.