"Pride of the Inn" is a series that introduces the proprietresses and managers of inns that are members of "The Ryokan Collection." This time, we will be introducing Tomohiro Iguchi, president of "ryugon."

The inn is a 30-minute drive from Echigo-Yuzawa Station on the Joetsu Shinkansen line, and a 4-minute drive from Muikamachi Station on the Joetsu Line. If you take the Shinkansen from Tokyo Station, you can arrive in just two hours. The unique Ryokan Hotel Ryugon in Minamiuonuma City, Niigata Prefecture, is a wooden inn housed in an old house from the end of the Edo period that was relocated here.

Admire the spacious and cozy lounge

The exterior's striking contrast between the wooden structure and white walls is captivating. What everyone admires is the lounge that stretches from the reception area to the back, encompassing several rooms.

"You won't find a lounge like this anywhere else in Japan. That's why I thought it was valuable, and I built it. I had in mind that it would be a relaxing place for overseas guests in particular."

This is what Ryugon's President Iguchi Tomohiro said.

"When I see experienced foreign visitors and Japanese people reading books here, I feel happy and that my goal has been achieved."

There's an area around a hearth, a bar counter, and a library stocked with tasteful books. There are also a wide variety of chairs, from artistic to traditional zaisu (low-cushion) chairs, tables, and sofas. There's even a snow hut-shaped sofa that's perfect for couples.

And yet it doesn't feel cluttered. The view from the window changes, so does your mood. In fact, it was impressive to see so many guests relaxing in the lounge after dinner. They probably want to linger there rather than go back to their rooms.

The key is a bottom-up approach across the region

President Iguchi talks about the relationship between the town and the inn.

"Ryugon is located in Muikamachi, Minamiuonuma City, which is not a tourist town. If you take a walk outside the inn, you'll see beautiful rice fields and people working in the fields. It's a place where you can get a feel for everyday life in the countryside. The inn is close to the town center, so you can enjoy things like eating at an izakaya where locals go. On the other hand, the inn is located at the foot of Mount Sakado, so you can also get a good feel for nature. This is the perfect location to enjoy both the city and nature."

Indeed, the greenery of the mountains is right in front of you in every corner of the inn, including the guest rooms and lounge.

The president continues.

"My hope is that guests will stay multiple nights. You won't really get to understand the local culture if you only stay one night. I want you to enjoy the local culture and lifestyle while staying at this inn. It's only by interacting with the locals that you can truly appreciate the importance of the culture. If you stay multiple nights, you can have dinner in town, come back to the inn, and have a drink and a snack in the bar, which is open until midnight. Or you could have a light meal of soba noodles, curry rice, or a beef sandwich tonight. That's why we have a food menu in the inn. Of course, you can also order room service.

That's how we want people to use the inn. The inn is merely a base for people to enjoy the whole town."

By the way, there is also a plan that allows you to use the lounge and bathe even if you are not staying overnight. After all, every service you can think of is available.

Three reasons to return to a hotel

The thinking goes deeper.

"My philosophy is that if there are good restaurants in the local area, the occupancy rate of the inn will increase. I work hard on the food at my own inn, but it's more fun when there are more good restaurants in the local area. It makes you want to use the inn as a base and stay for two or three nights.

I travel all over the world, and there's almost always a "surefire formula" for wherever I want to go.

First, there are accommodations that people want to stay at, second, there are activities that people want to try, and lastly, there is a good food culture. These three elements work together to create appeal. If even one of these conditions is missing, people probably won't return."

That's why Ryugon offers such a wide variety of activities, with an astounding number of options.

Activities include wild vegetable and mushroom picking, cycling through rice fields, trekking on Mt. Sakado, town tours, and in winter, snow shoveling, snow gastronomy and snow picnics in the snow fields. Inside the facility, you can also try earthen floor cooking, bake rice crackers and make delicious rice balls in a clay pot...the list goes on.

By the way, the ten electric assist bicycles are made in Taiwan by BESV, and can travel up to 90km continuously. You can go anywhere.

There is also a program where you can rent a light truck and drive through the fields and mountains.

"It's the same idea as when we go to America and want to rent a pickup truck and drive through the desert, or when we go to Hawaii and want to drive an open-top car. Wouldn't it be great for Instagram if a woman in her 20s wore a straw hat and drove a light truck through rice paddy roads?"

This might be cool.

An inn is a collection of ideas

In fact, it was a long history of accumulated thinking that led Iguchi to this point.

The original inn, Onsen Ryokan Ryugon, was built in the 1960s. The buildings were relocated from wealthy farmers' mansions and samurai residences in the local Muikamachi area, built during the late Edo period. It is a collection of 16 houses, large and small, and the main building is designated as an Important Cultural Property. When management was transferred to President Iguchi, it was renovated and became what it is today. That was in 2019.

"I have been involved in Snow Country Tourism Zone activities since 2008, 17 years ago. The challenge was how to make the unique Snow Country culture take root in the region. So when we were renovating Ryugon, our main focus was on expressing the culture and lifestyle of this region within the inn.

The idea was to allow guests to experience Japanese culture and spend a relatively high-quality stay for an extended period of time. To achieve this, we needed more than just an old building, so we also incorporated modern comforts.

Our goal was to create a place where people with the travel literacy to stay for a week at a winery chateau in Burgundy, France, would feel comfortable. An inn is an accumulation of individual ideas."

Breaking down barriers and integrating into the community

"It doesn't really feel like we've built a luxury inn on this land. First of all, inns have impressive gates, and you get the feeling that there's a 'barrier' beyond which only guests can enter. So, first we demolished the impressive gate and changed the name from 'Ryugon' to 'Ryugon'. By doing so, we wanted to get rid of the formality and make it blend in with the local area.

So this is not a luxury inn. It's a hotel."

Immediately after passing through the gate there is a cafe on the left, and on the right there is a fairly large select shop stocking local products, probably to make it easier for people to cross the threshold.

"Japanese people want a good inn that can be self-contained within the premises. But for people from overseas who want to experience local Japan, it doesn't have to be an extremely luxurious inn. A four-star inn will do. For them, the priority is the travel process."

That being said, the rooms were extremely comfortable, with a wide range of room prices to choose from, from just over 20,000 yen for a classic room to 200,000 yen for the newly built villa suite.

What is "Snow Country Culture"?

So, what is this "snow country culture" that has been mentioned so far?

"When you think of snow country culture, it's easy to think of old buildings, thatched roofs, and straw crafts. But that just leaves it as a legacy of the past. I believe culture exists within the context of past, present, and future. We have lived with snow, so I want to express the wisdom of life that has been nurtured here, and look to the future. For example, the large red circular sofa and the round cushions around the hearth represent the heavy, round, humid snow of this region. The sofa next to the library is also inspired by a snow hut. All of these pieces of furniture are custom-made."

What is the "Snow Country Tourism Zone" concept?

"The trigger for this was the impending issue of the 2014 extension of the Shinkansen to Kanazawa. Until then, there was an express train from Echigo-Yuzawa to Kanazawa, but once the Shinkansen was extended to Kanazawa, what would happen to towns along the way like ours? So, volunteers from seven towns and villages in Niigata, Gunma, and other areas got together and created the Snow Country Tourism Zone. The idea was that the entire area needed to create a brand that could rival Kanazawa.

The core of this is the culture of the snow country. Other participants include President Iwasa of Satoyama Jyujyo, also from Niigata Prefecture, and President Kubo of Senjuan, from Minakami Village, Gunma Prefecture. Since we are an inn, we have been thinking for a long time about how to incorporate the culture of the snow country into our facilities."

The winter occupancy rate is nearly 100%!

Therefore, winter is apparently the easiest time to see it.

"The first floor is completely buried, and snow piles up all the way up to the second floor. It's great to just sit there and gaze at the snow with a glass of red wine in hand. The snow itself has value. Our winter occupancy rate is almost 100%, so our customers are really enjoying the winter. I think it's because it's just so cozy."

Anything else you'd suggest?

"When you think of Niigata, the only images that spring to mind are rice and sake. People also tend to think that Nagano Prefecture is a better place for skiing. There are no World Heritage sites or famous historical sites here. Minamiuonuma is just another town like any other in the Japanese countryside. So, I want to offer a thoughtful, unpretentious trip that is rooted in local culture. There may not be any famous dishes, but the winter cuisine is packed with the culture of the snow country."

But the food was also quite good. The full course "Snow Country Gastronomy" was filled with local ingredients and was very good.

"Of course, we provide the level of food our guests desire. The menu changes five times a year, but for three nights, we can change the entire menu. We are also 100% vegan and vegetarian-friendly. We can even accommodate requests on the day. We are constantly developing our menu, so we can provide vegan meals for three nights without any problems."

The thing he most wants people to eat is wild spring vegetables.

"I want to spread the word about wild vegetables to the world."

What made a strong impression on me was the behavior of the local lady staff serving rice at the breakfast buffet. She spoke casually to the white people who didn't understand a word of Japanese, asking questions like, "What would you like for rice?", "Can I add a little more?", and "How about miso soup?" I think this kind of interaction is absolutely wonderful.

An inn that is linked to the absolute values ​​of the region

President Iguchi's ideas are quite unusual. Or rather, the way he sees the inn in relation to the town is completely original.

First of all, what kind of background does he have?

"I am the fourth generation owner of the Echigo Yuzawa HATAGO Isen inn, located in front of Echigo Yuzawa Station. I graduated from a local high school and went to study at an American university. I majored in marketing at the School of Business at Eastern Washington University in Spokane, Washington."

He thought about getting an MBA, but realized he had no work experience and returned to his parents' home.

"At the time, my parents' house was a hot spring inn in front of the station called Yuzawa View Hotel Isen. It cost about 10,000 yen per night. Management was difficult, so we had to rebuild it, and in 2005 we reopened it as Echigo Yuzawa HATAGO Isen.
While I was doing that, I started to think that the place called Yuzawa itself needed to be rebranded. Yuzawa has such a strong image of skiing and hot springs that it would be difficult to visit during the non-skiing seasons. So 17 years ago, I set up the Snow Country Tourism Zone myself and have been working on it ever since. This is what led to the renewal of "ryugon."

President Iguchi concludes:

"If it were just a luxury inn, there would be plenty of rivals, and customers wouldn't care if it wasn't us. So, I want to compete in the blue ocean of snow country culture.

If it were just an inn, it would lose quickly. But a region cannot be imitated by other regions, even if they want to. If we create an inn that is linked to the absolute values ​​that the region holds, it will become very strong. If only one inn were to take on this battle, it would be no match, but we are doing it as an entire region. The same goes for other inns and related restaurants.

I believe that this is where Japan's rural areas can find a way to survive."

Tomohiro Iguchi

Born in Yuzawa Town, Minamiuonuma District, Niigata Prefecture in 1973. Graduated from the Marketing Department of the School of Business at Eastern Washington University. Succeeded in the family ryokan business as the fourth generation owner, and renovated "Echigo Yuzawa HATAGO Isen" in 2005. In 2008, he launched the "Snow Country Tourism Zone," which consists of seven surrounding cities and towns, as a planner, and has been instrumental in its management, serving as a member of the Tourism Industry Review Council of the Japan Tourism Agency. In 2013, he established the Snow Country Tourism Zone General Incorporated Association and became its representative director. He is a central figure in promoting wide-area tourism zone projects, including tourism quality standards, human resource training, and CSR projects. His publications include "Yukimaroge Management Theory" (2013, Kashiwa Shobosha).

[ryugon]

Address: 1-6 Sakado, Minamiuonuma City, Niigata Prefecture

Telephone 025-772-3470

HP　https:// ryugon.co.jp/

Composition/Written by:Toshizumi Ishibashi

He is a freelance editor‑writer and contributing editor at Premium Japan. He is former editor‑in‑chief of CREA Traveller and CREA.

Photo by Toshiyuki Furuya