Sanso Amanosato

Best hospitality ever experienced. Better than Aman or Four Seasons. The property is lovely. The rooms are awesome. Somewhat Nordic. If 3 star Michelin food is a 10/10- this is an 8 food and 10/10 for display and creativity. The staff and the service cannot be described in words. They are maniacal about providing service beyond expectation. The hotel has 8 rooms. It’s 25 minutes from Koya San which is a truly unreal place. They will drive you back and forth and cater to your every need. Truly memorable stay. Bravo.

We returned to Sanso Amanosato after a fantastic stay in 2022, this time together with Mrs. KI-NRT's mother. We booked two rooms - both were 67m² Suites just like last time. I won't go into detail on the property, since I covered it in detail in my earlier review. The GM was still the same wonderful gentleman, the executive chef was also the same person, much to our relief - food (along with service) is this ryokan's calling card, and stability is critically important to ensure continued culinary excellence. From talking to the chef, it appears that he's intending to be there for life. Once again, our dinner did not disappoint. The Winter Yellowtail (from Himi, Toyama) marinated with Lemon Juice and Olive Oil, was sublime. Ditto for the Kumano Beef Chateaubriand grilled in Binchotan Charcoal from Kishu, as well as every other dish that was served. What made everything all the more remarkable was the fact that no dish was a repeat from 2022 - it was all new, all novel and all elegantly presented and meticulously prepared. They also have menus in both Japanese and English, so it's easy to follow along as they bring out serving after umami-infused serving. Service was, once again, professional, warm and courteous. We can tell that all staff members took great pride in their work and in being there. Sanso Amanosato is only 60 minutes by car from Osaka, serves amazing cuisine, and offers Onsen (hot springs) baths (although it's not in the room, but rather via private family baths that can be freely used upon availability, which is the vast majority of the time as they have 3 of them for 8 total groups of guests per day.) It's a wonderful way to spend an enchanting time in a convenient ryokan that nonetheless feels a world apart from modern Japanese civilization. We look forward to returning at different time of year to experience different seasonal cuisine.