Senpokaku

At dinner, the proprietress came to speak with us, and when we mentioned our 30th wedding anniversary, she gave us a wonderful handwritten gift that truly moved us. We were so happy. We have it proudly displayed at home. The unexpected present became a very special memory.\nThe views from the Room and the dining area were exceptional as well.\nAt breakfast, we also had the chance to chat with a staff member from our hometown. We were touched by everyone’s kindness and thoughtfulness.\nIt was a truly wonderful Accommodation. Thank you very much. We hope to visit again someday.

With a long-awaited extended break, we took a 2-night, 3-day trip to Ise and Toba. On the first day, we traveled from Tokyo via Nagoya to Ise City to visit Ise Jingu. In the evening, we arrived at Toba Station and took the shuttle bus to Senpoukaku.The property was more spacious than expected. It does feel a bit old in places, but in a comforting, nostalgic way.Right after check-in, we headed straight to the large public bath on the top floor. There were a few other guests at first, but they left soon after—so it ended up feeling completely private. We enjoyed the hot spring and night view before heading to dinner.Since it was my partner’s first time trying it, I pre-booked an additional spiny lobster sashimi platter. We chose the chef’s recommended kaiseki course and also enjoyed some local sake—everything was excellent. Back in our room, we relaxed in the open-air bath as well and slept soundly.On the morning of day two, we woke up early for another soak in our room’s open-air bath before breakfast. It looked like there were many guests staying that day, so we went down right at 7:00 and tried a bit of everything. We were very satisfied with local specialties like Ise udon, spiny lobster miso soup, and sea bream ochazuke.That day we visited Toba Aquarium and Mikimoto Pearl Island before returning to the hotel in the evening. This time we used the top-floor open-air bath; once again our timing was perfect and it felt almost private. The natural scenery was hard to believe for a rooftop setting—then it was off to dinner.Since it was also my partner’s first time trying abalone prepared whole, I reserved it in advance as well. The menu differed from the first night and was just as satisfying. At my request (a bit of an imposition), they even let us take home the turban shell and abalone shells from that evening’s meal—and kindly washed them thoroughly for us.Day three was checkout day at last. After enjoying one final soak in our room’s open-air bath from early morning, we went to breakfast again. Having fully enjoyed local dishes on previous days, this time we opted for the Western-style buffet instead.We packed up and checked out shortly after 9:00 AM. After stopping by Futamiura area on our way out, we headed home before evening.Our 2-night stay at Senpoukaku was wonderful—the in-room open-air bath as well as both rooftop baths were outstanding. Both dinner kaiseki meals and breakfast buffets exceeded expectations.Above all else, everyone—from the proprietress to the attendants and shuttle bus driver—was friendly and welcoming throughout our stay. Thank you for such great memories; we would love to return if given another chance.