IHG Hotels & Resorts operates 19 hotel brands with more than 6,400 hotels in over 100 countries. In Japan, IHG Hotels & Resorts currently operates about 47 hotels under seven brands from Hokkaido to Okinawa (as of June 30, 2024). For this interview, we asked Yusuke Watanabe, general manager of Hotel Indigo Hakone Gora, about the attractions around the hotel.
Name: Hotel Indigo Hakone Gora
Location: 924-1 Kiga, Hakone-cho, Ashigarashita-gun, Kanagawa Prefecture
–How did you come to work at Hotel Indigo Hakone Gora?
He has been with IHG Hotels & Resorts for a total of 18 years, starting when he joined ANA Hakata Hotel (now ANA Crowne Plaza Hotel Fukuoka) as a new graduate and moved to Kanazawa, Narita and Hiroshima within the IHG Group as Head of Finance. I have been in this position since August 13, 2024. He has been working at Hakone Gora, one of the most popular hot spring resorts in Japan and abroad.
–What kind of hotel is it?
Our hotel first arrived in Japan in 2020 as the Hotel Indigo brand of IHG Hotels & Resorts. Since then, we have been delivering Neighborhood Stories that illuminate the hotel’s Neighborhood appeal through the hotel experience. The hotel combines all 100 rooms with private natural hot spring baths, a Riverside Kitchen & Bar where local ingredients are grilled over wood, a Thermal Spring, a natural hot spring spa that families and couples can enter together, and a footbath in the courtyard.
–What is the unique experience of Hotel Indigo Hakone Gora?
The essence of Hakone marquetry, a traditional handicraft, can be experienced throughout the hotel and in the guest rooms, and the private natural hot springs in the guest rooms offer a relaxing and refreshing view of the outer rim of Hakone. Guests can also soak in the natural hot spring footbath in the courtyard space while enjoying a view of the strong current of the Hayakawa River in front of the hotel, as well as enjoy the hotel’s recommended sweets and cocktails.
–please let me know if you have any personal favorites tourist spots or restaurants in the vicinity of the hotel.
There are various places in the vicinity of the hotel where you can experience the local area. One example is the historic Suwa Shrine, a 15-minute walk away, where the Yutate Shishimai (lion dance), designated as a National Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property, is dedicated every July. In addition, I myself regularly visit Seishin-ike Pond, a 15-minute drive from the hotel, to refresh myself. Here, depending on the time of day, there is little traffic and you can enjoy the chirping of birds, the swaying of trees and grass in the wind, and sometimes silence as you take in the view of the majestic mountains and the Shojin Pond in front of you.
–What restaurant menu do you recommend?
At our restaurant, Riverside Kitchen & Bar, you can enjoy dishes made with fresh local ingredients from Odawara and other areas, grilled over wood from thinned forests in the surrounding mountains. Recommended menu items include wood-grilled local Ashigara beef, fish that changes with the day’s purchases and season, and fresh local vegetables. Another visually interesting dish is the pink clam chowder soup, which, as the name suggests, is pink in color.
–What souvenirs do you recommend?
The store also sells original items from Hotel Indigo Hakone Gora, so be sure to stop by for a souvenir of your trip. I recommend Hakone marquetry, a traditional handicraft, and I bought a business card case made of solid marquetry and love it.
© Source travel watch
Auto Amazon Links: No products found.
Auto Amazon Links: No products found.