Akasawa Geihinkan

Anyway, the meals were…

I had the pleasure of staying in this Ryokan’s best Room, “Yamamomo.” Beforehand, we exchanged detailed messages about the meals. They kindly changed the “usually tube wasabi” to fresh wasabi (an additional JPY 500), and I also shared my requests regarding quality and portion size, but… To be honest, I think food lovers would rate the dining quite strictly. In detail: the portions of firefly squid and pen shell in the appetizer were far too small. The sashimi felt too basic. Given the location, I expected items such as spiny lobster and turban shell. The abalone was also quite small. In addition, there were only two slices of beef in the hot pot; I believe four to five slices would be appropriate. As for the finishing rice dish, it was bamboo shoot rice for the season, but the key bamboo shoots were chopped extremely small, and their quality was not very good either. Since this is a Room that costs close to JPY 200,000 per night, I believe that increasing the food cost per person by another JPY 5,000–8,000 would make this a highly rated Ryokan. With all due respect—and out of genuine concern—I hope your team will consider this seriously as a group. One more point beyond dining: have you considered appointing a head of the Ryokan (a proprietress or even a male manager)? I personally feel it is essential…