Local Guide ~ An Original Japan Travel Guide by Hoshino Resorts' Local Staff

Local Guide

Shinji Fujino

Dr. Art

He is also making the most of his background as an art college graduate to discover and promote Hoshino Resorts KAI Sengokuhara as an "atelier hot spring ryokan". He is a Kyushu boy who loves his wife and cat. When it comes to art and rakugo, he can't stop talking.

Hoshino Resorts KAI Sengokuhara: All rooms at this hot spring ryokan with outdoor hot spring baths are located in the magnificent nature of the Sengokuhara Plateau at an altitude of 700 meters above sea level. I consider art not as something to be appreciated but as something to be expressed, and I will use various techniques and materials to express myself.

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Local Guide FAQ

What do you recommend in the Hakone area (places, experiences, food)?: At the Pola Museum of Art near Hoshino Resorts KAI Sengokuhara, you can not only view Impressionist and Ecole de Paris works, but also discover the beautiful light and colors that painters of the past would have followed with their own eyes in the surrounding nature. The museum's Restaurant offers dishes inspired by the works in the exhibitions.

Please sneak in some hole-in-the-wall places that you know because you live there.: Having worked in a café myself, I have many favorite restaurants.
NARAYA CAFE," which was renovated as a "footbath café" on the site of a long-established inn that had been in operation since the Genroku era, is a wonderful fusion of old, new, and relaxed atmosphere, and the mobile café "cafe ryusenkei" serves coffee that is hand-drip brewed by the owner, who loves to travel, and is truly The coffee at the mobile cafe "cafe ryusenkei" is delicious, and the regulars are all interesting people.

Where did you travel to last year and with whom?: My wife and I went to Thailand. We participated in a festival called Kom Loei, where lanterns were launched, and after watching the beautiful scenery, we spent the rest of the time just hanging out with the local cats. Not being able to communicate well in their own language, I felt as if I understood the feelings of the Guest/customer I usually deal with.