We enjoyed a two-day and one-night work vacation around the "Hinotani Onsen Misugi Resort," which is challenging advanced workcation initiatives in the Misugi area of Tsu City, Mie Prefecture.
Starting with gibier, local beer, hot spring, Zen experience, and soba noodles, we were full and satisfied both in our stomachs and in our minds.
Recommendations
・7-minute walk from where you are staying. A diner where you can eat gibier such as deer and wild boar at reasonable prices.
・The Misugi Resort is a hot spring resort in Hinotani that can accommodate from one person to a large group of people.
・Learn from Misugi's workcations, which are also linked to private accommodations and various other services.
We hope you will try it. Soft fried venison.
This workcation was conducted by car.
We arrived in the Misugi area after 12:00 p.m. We have some time before hotel check-in (3:00 p.m.), so we have lunch at Yamazato, a gibier restaurant where deer and wild boar are served.
Yamazato" is a 7-minute walk or 2-minute drive from "Misugi Onsen Hinotani Resort," where we will be staying.
The menu includes fried and stir-fried venison, grilled or sukiyaki wild boar meat, all of which look delicious.
Since there was no wild boar meat available that day, I ordered the "fried deer set meal" recommended by the owner.
Deer antlers displayed in the store.
Mr. Yamamoto, the owner of the restaurant.
He has been hunting, processing, and cooking his own game for over 30 years.
It seemed that there was also a lunch box delivery that day, so they were busy working.
He had a lot of ideas about the mountains and the community, and was very open and friendly, even though he was busy.
And here they come!
Fried venison set meal.
I took a bite and was amazed at how soft it was.
When I think of venison, I have an image of it being somewhat elastic and having a peculiar animal meat taste, but this fried venison was so tender that I could get my teeth into it and chew it up in a snap! I ate it all at once without the smell of animal meat.
Mr. Yamamoto says, "We only use the tender part of the venison. We hope you will try it.
Hinotani Onsen Misugi Resort
After filling our stomachs, we checked into our hotel.
The base for this workcation will be the "Hinotani Onsen Misugi Resort".
Across from the entrance is a log with the words "WOOD JOB!
Yes. Misugi was the area where the movie "WOOD JOB! ~The easy life in KAMUSARI ~" was set, and Shota Sometani, Masami Nagasawa, Hideaki Ito and others stayed at Misugi Resort for two months.
The lobby of the very spacious hotel. Decorations change with the seasons.
I arrived a little early so I could do some paperwork in the lobby.
Early check-in is available for an additional fee. On this particular day, I had an online meeting starting after 2pm, so I checked in an hour early.
Quiet and comfortable apartments perfect for work
The hotel rooms are spacious, quiet and very comfortable.
The view from the window. Surrounded by mountains, it is soothing.
The table has an electric lamp. Inevitably, in a large room, the hand can be dark due to the placement of the room, so this kind of attention to detail is appreciated.
Online meeting. Since the content of the meeting was mainly a hearing, with no particular typing required, I was able to participate in the meeting in the comfort of a window seat.
When you feel calm, you can think about things from a different perspective.
After the meeting, we strolled around the grounds until dinner.
The Hinotani Onsen Misugi Resort has not only hotels, but also cottages.
Misugi Resort's Various Initiatives
They are involved in various initiatives such as a microbrewery and a stone oven bakery.
There is also a forest therapy road with 12 trails to enjoy.
Mr. Nakagawa is the president of Hinotani Onsen Misugi Resort . He became president at a young age and has been working on various schemes, both inside and outside the Misugi area, centering on the Misugi Resort.
We have also made it easy for guests to work at Misugi Resort by providing the services and know-how we have cultivated at the hotel to those staying at private accommodations in the area, and by taking reservations for private accommodations, activities, restaurants, etc. at Misugi Resort, making it as hassle-free as possible for guests to come and stay with us. The Misugi Resort also offers a wide range of services and know-how to make your stay in Japan easier.
We also collaborate with companies, universities, and governments to research, practice, and improve the form of workcation that fits the times on a daily basis.
Even before the word "workcation" was coined, the hotel was working on regional revitalization, regional cooperation, and solutions to regional issues. Mr. Nakagawa's story gave us hope that Misugi will become more interesting at an accelerated pace in the future.
Safe and delicious "New Normal Buffet"
Dinner and breakfast will be buffet style. Many colorful and delicious meals of Japanese, Western, and Chinese cuisine will be served.
Local beer can also be enjoyed for an additional charge.
There are three types of local beers, and they are poured from a beer server in front of you.
Inside the pot is sukiyaki.
As a "new normal buffet," the seating arrangement ensures social distance, and tongs, food shelves, and other surfaces that guests' hands come in contact with are sprayed with a photocatalytic antibacterial coating.
The sushi is made on the spot by the chef. This is truly a luxury.
There was also a wide selection of desserts, and after struggling with this and that, I ate too much.
Enjoy the open-air bath
After filling up, I did some quick work in my room for about an hour and then went to the bath. To my surprise, I heard that for an additional 3,000 yen, I could enter a private bath for 45 minutes, so I applied at the front desk without hesitation.
So spacious! What a waste for one person! I thoroughly enjoyed the open-air bath for 45 minutes, thinking, "It's too big for just one person!
If you are not comfortable bathing in a large group, if you want to take an open-air bath with your family without worrying about being seen, or if you want to take a relaxing bath by yourself, this is the place for you.
Zen and Preaching Experience
The second day started at 7:00 in the morning. Rubbing my sleepy eyes, I headed for the temple "Saiko-in," located in Misugi.
This is where I will experience Zen. This is my first time and I am looking forward to it.
Mr. Kakkatsu Ishiyama is the chief priest. He is a pop monk who also enjoys music.
Zazen involves a number of techniques, including how to cross one's legs, how to open one's eyes, how to place one's hands, how to breathe, and so forth, which are built up one by one, and finally unraveled one by one after a period of becoming "nothing. Afterwards, Mr. Ishiyama will give us a few words of appreciation.
I was struck by the phrase, "The mind is always in motion, so we need time to consciously stop it," and I thought that workcation might be just such a time.
My mind was clear and I could absorb new knowledge and experiences as I went along. I felt like that.
Tempura soba noodles with seasonal vegetables
After returning to the hotel for breakfast, I checked out at 10:00 a.m. and worked in the lobby for about 90 minutes.
We then headed to Kisaragi Soba Restaurant for lunch, a four-minute drive from the hotel.
Tempura soba noodles with seasonal vegetables and fruits. The soba noodles were handmade, and the tempura was excellent, with shrimp and shimeji mushrooms as well as apples, persimmons, makomo, radish, zucchini, and other unusual items.
Mr. Katsushi Bessho runs Kisaragi with his wife. The restaurant has been in business for 13 years.
He took one of his two weekends off as a company employee to train in buckwheat noodle making and commuted to Nagoya every week to start his own business.
I came to the thought that I could start something new, something I wanted to do at any age.
The "Tsu City Hall Misugi General Branch," located a minute's drive from Kisaragi, has information on sightseeing in Misugi.
Finally, we stopped by the general branch office to look at a bulletin board and receive a pamphlet before heading home.
An example of how to spend your time
Day 1
12:00 Lunch at "Yamazato“
13:00 Arrive at "Misugi Resort Hinotani Onsen". Work in the lobby.
14:00 Early check-in. Online meeting in room.
15:00 Walk around the hotel grounds
16:30 Return to hotel and work
18:30 Dinner
21:00 Take a bath
22:30 Bedtime
Day 2
6:30 Wake up
7:30 Zen experience at Seishoin
8:45 Breakfast at hotel
10:00 Check out. Work in the lobby
11:30 Lunch at Kisaragi
12:30 See tourist information at "Tsu City Hall Misugi General Branch”
13:00 Workday ends
Facilities
Mie Jibier Store Yamazato
5919-1 Yachi, Misugi-cho, Tsu-shi, Mie 515-3421
Hinotani Onsen Misugi Resort
5990 Yachi, Misugi-cho, Tsu, Mie 515-3421, Japan
Seishoin
2780 Shimotake, Misugi-cho, Tsu-shi, Mie 515-3311
Kisaragi Soba Restaurant
5392 Yachi, Misugi-cho, Tsu-shi, Mie 515-3421
Tsu City Hall Misugi General Branch
5828-1 Yachi, Misugi-cho, Tsu-shi, Mie 515-3421