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Kasuien Minami at Tamatsukuri Onsen: A gorgeous yet relaxing ryokan in Matsue, Shimane

 About 5 min to read

The room was spacious, with “hiroen,” or a broad indoor veranda, overlooking the onsen town.

We were a group of three, and I have to admit, it did feel a little tight when three futons were spread out at night. At other times, though, the room didn’t feel small at all.

A room at “Kasuien Minami” at Tamatsukuri Onsen hot spring in Matsue, Shimane Prefecture.

“Hiroen,” a broad indoor veranda
“Hiroen,” a broad indoor veranda

There were baskets to put towels in and take to the public bath, one for each guest. They were very pretty, I wished I could take one home.

Baskets to take to onsen, or hot spring

Hotel amenities were classy as well. I liked how toothbrushes were neatly placed in a chic basket. They were all of different colors too, making it easy to distinguish which one is whose.

Toothbrushes

And of course, one of the fun things about staying in a ryokan is savoring welcome sweets placed in the room with some hot tea. Here at Kasuien Minami, there were several types of sweets. The one in upper left corner (square-shaped sweets wrapped in a white sheet of paper with red lettering) called “En” was a specialty of the ryokan — “gyuhi,” or soft mochi, wrapped in red beans, which in turn are covered with matcha-flavored dough. It was just the right level of sweetness.

The coffee was Lafcadio Coffee, from the local Nakamura Chaho.

Lafcadio Coffee

I was going to take a bath after dinner — which I’ll tell all about in my next entry — at one of many types of onsen (Japanese site) available throughout the ryokan, but sadly I didn’t have enough time. They close rather early — 23:00 or 24:00 at the latest.

The entrance to public baths on the first floor
The entrance to public baths on the first floor

So, instead, I opted for some nice hand and foot baths in a courtyard.

The day I stayed at Kasuien Minami, I walked at least 15,000 steps — you can easily guess how my legs were feeling at the end of the day. The foot bath was exactly what I needed at that moment.

Foot bath

You can also put your forearms into the stone bowl for a soothing hand bath.

A little fountain where hot water is coming out

Looking up, I saw the night sky and some stars above me. I was all by myself, in silence — which I found is a perfect way to enjoy a night in the “onsen of the gods.”

Looking up at the sky from courtyard

Kasuien Minami at Tamatsukuri Onsen
Address 1218–8 Tamayucho Tamatsukuri, Matsue, Shimane Prefecture
TEL 0852–62–0331

[blogcard link=”https://www.kasuien-minami.jp/english/index.html”]

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