The Best Hotels Near Kumano-bettei NAKANOSHIMA, by the Record
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A small, densely forested island at the mouth of Katsuura Bay is the whole argument for this ryokan, which occupies the only building on it. Hot-spring baths, tatami rooms, and Western-style rooms in bold contemporary colors fill the newer wing. Evenings bring a kaiseki dinner built almost entirely from the local coastline, which is the ryokan way of reminding you exactly where you are.
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Every suite comes with its own hot spring bath, which makes it hard to explain why anyone bothers leaving the room. Five Spring Resort is a contemporary all-inclusive resort in Wakayama's beach town of Shirahama, built around geothermal springs and kaiseki dinners, with a lagoon pool threading across the property and forested hillsides on all sides. The aesthetic is modern Japanese rather than traditional inn, though the hospitality runs along the same unhurried lines.