SANSUIROU

I stayed at Sansuirou in Okuyugawara, a Japanese hot-spring inn once honored with four red pavilions by Michelin. According to my parents, the last time I stayed here was when I was about two years old—that means over forty years ago. Last year, the inn was purchased by Noguchi Kanko, a Hokkaido–based hotel group, along with the adjacent inn Tsubaki. Can a new owner still maintain a quality worthy of its venerable name?

ミシュランの4レッドパビリオンである奥湯河原の温泉旅館「山翠楼」に泊まる。両親によると、僕が前回ここに泊まったのは2歳くらいの頃だそうで、つまり40年以上前のこと。昨年、この旅館は隣の「海石榴」と共に北海道のホテルグループである野口観光に買われたが、新しいオーナーは老舗の名前に相応しいクオリティを維持できるだろうか？