The Best Hotels Near Sekitei, by the Record
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Nine detached villas cascade down a terraced hillside above Japan's Inland Sea, each with its own plunge pool and a direct view of Miyajima's famous red torii gate floating on the water below. This is a traditional ryokan, which means the nightlife is a cup of local sake and a slow walk through spectacular gardens, and that turns out to be plenty. The Michelin Guide awarded it 2 Keys.
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Shigeru Ban designed this resort complex on the Hiroshima coast, where mountains meet the sea and a modern art museum sits at the center of it all. The ten villas are each distinct, from the Wall-Less House to the Paper House built from recycled paper tubes, while waterfront rooms have baths of cypress or Towada stone. A French restaurant and a light-filled lounge round it out. The Michelin Guide awarded it one Key.
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A modern ryokan on the island of Itsukushima, where many rooms look out over the Seto Inland Sea, Mt. Misen, or both. The interiors mix classic 20th-century European and American design pieces with the handiwork of Japanese artisans, a pairing that somehow feels deliberate rather than indecisive. The restaurant applies French techniques to Setouchi produce and local seafood. A short ferry hop from Hiroshima, which makes it very easy to talk yourself into staying.
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A short ferry hop from Hiroshima puts you on Etajima, a quiet island in the Seto Inland Sea where this small ryokan-style hotel sits with rooms overlooking the water or forested hills. Handmade washi art by Eriko Horiki lines the interiors, and the mineral hot spring baths do exactly what you came for. The restaurant runs multi-course meals pairing French technique with local seafood. It's the kind of place where the ferry schedule becomes your whole schedule.
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A drained swimming pool now serves as the hotel bar, filled instead with plants, skylights, and guests recovering from a day of sightseeing. KIRO is a modern boutique hotel in central Hiroshima, with rooms ranging from Western to Japanese-style, plus loft and bunk configurations that make it genuinely workable for families or groups. A shared kitchen lets guests cook together using ingredients from nearby shops, which is either charming or chaotic depending on your travel party.
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Tadao Ando designed this mountaintop retreat in Ehime, and concrete here somehow reads as weightless. Seven suites run white on white, with the occasional blonde-wood chair allowed in on good behavior, and the floor-to-ceiling windows frame the Seto Inland Sea as the main event. The rock garden, the pool, the udon in the restaurant, all of it sustains the same considered quiet. The Michelin Guide awarded it a Key.