Breakfast
A true Japanese-style hotel in Shima Onsen resort that's surrounded by trees and mountains and is just 3 hours from Tokyo. Features 7 onsen baths, including private onsen, and is tattoo-friendly. Guests are served Japanese cuisine for breakfast and dinner with vegan options prepared from locally sourced vegetables.
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Last update on 06 May 2019 by Guest
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Added by masuokashiwabara on 06 May 2019
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8 Reviews
First Review by lauralyn
tofucourtney
Points +350
Fantastic onsen and food! - Edit
Really fantastic onsen, with option to have vegan dinner and breakfast included in our package. Really great treatment by staff, it felt so fancy and was a great opportunity to taste some delicious local foods.
Read moreGuest
totallymaart
Points +89
Beautiful place - Edit
Great place to experience the onsen ryokan. Vegan menu was classic Japanese, with lots of mushrooms and konjac. Has to be your taste but was fun to try!
Read moreGuest
AsafBarak
Points +34
Brilliant - Edit
Wish more places would be vegan friendly as this place in rural areas in Japan as it’s tough to find food.
Read moreAnd this place is such an amazing experience. Without it, I wouldn’t go to Shima Onsen area or have an authentic Ryokan experience.
Pros: Vegan friendly will solve the breakfast&dinner, Amazing team and hospitality
Cons: English was good but can improve , Vegan seems to be new concept for this area
Guest
jollieduck
Points +1624
No vegan food for solo travelers - Edit
I made a reservation here and was very much looking forward to it until I learned that they do not provide vegan meals for solo travelers. If you are vegan and on your own, do not plan to come here. I found this place through the rave reviews on HappyCow, but since they refused to serve me vegan food I have to rate it low.
Read moreFrom Kashiwaya Ryokan:
"When we prepare vegan meals, we have to get the special ingredients and cook with a different cooking method than usual. Therefore, vegan cooking for one person results in a large loss for the ingredients and time. So we can't sell the vegan-option for solo travelers."
LauraGarcíaN
Thank you so much for your comment... It save me for booking... What a pity
Read moreGuest
cyBe
Points +143
Utter relax - Edit
Going there in the depths of winter is beautiful: few guests, friendly staff and lavish vegan meals! The pools were amazing, you’ll get high quality beauty products in your room and even real-deal teas 🍵, splendid views and cute yukata robes. The Japanese-style vegan food included konjak which is fully vegan and even prepared in house, it can look very much like raw fish but is actually made from a gooey vegetable.
Read more#Veganuary
Pros: Free coffee and tea, Competent chef, Private onsen
Cons: Expensive
Guest
listerineee
Points +38
Relaxing, vegan-friendly ryokan - Edit
We visited Kashiwaya and the staff were all very accommodating and friendly. After taking the bus from the train station, we were greeted and given slippers to replace our shoes and taken to our room. Despite us not knowing much Japanese, the staff were very helpful and knew enough English to assist us. They have public gender-based onsen, 3 private onsen that you can use if not in use already, and a few rooms with their own private onsen (we stayed in one of these - Kame). The vegan dinner and breakfast they provided was excellent. We also enjoyed walking to the town center to explore and eat the popular local food: yakimanju and onsen Manju! Highly recommend trying these during your stay :)
Read morePros: Vegan options, Accommodating for English speakers, Beautiful scenery
Guest
kattgrover
Points +236
Vegan Feast - Edit
It’s not easy to find an onsen ryokan that caters to vegans so when I came across Kashiwaya I was over the moon. The whole experience here from arrival to departure was magical. In fact, even before arrival just driving through the beautiful countryside from Tokyo to Gunma prefecture was great; such an adventure!
Read moreWe were given local sweets and kombucha on arrival. The contrast between the subtle sweets and salty drink was delightful. I later discovered the same sweets we were served were available to purchase in town.
We went for a dip in the baths before dinner which we opted to have at 6.30pm (in our room). The baths were beautiful and even though we are extensively tattooed, this was no problem as there are three private baths (plus we had our own outside bath attached to our room). After a good soak we chanted into our yukata and retired to our room just in time for the feast to begin. The multi course feast was simply incredible. There were so many different colours and textures and flavours. Our menu came with English language descriptions of each dish. The food served is seasonal and most of the ingredients are sourced just a stones throw away from the local town/farmers.
Out of the many dishes we tried, I especially enjoyed the stewed daikon radish, the creamy silken sesame tofu, the grilled aubergine and the hotpot. There were so many different little salads, pickles, and some delicious (huge) marinaded beans. For dessert was a fresh fruit salad.
It looks at first as though the many tiny portions would not be filling but this is completely misleading as we were both stuffed by the end of it, and we are usually pretty big eaters.
The service from all staff was above and beyond, we really felt like VIPs.
For our breakfast the following day we were given the option of a Japanese or western breakfast. We opted for Japanese because we enjoy traditional Japanese breakfasts with natto, miso, etc... It was again a large and varied breakfast. Very traditional, very delicious.
This was a one of a kind culinary experience and one that I highly recommend to anyone going to Japan. It was the highlight of our trip. We will absolutely return again in another season, to sample the delicious seasonal offerings of autumn.
One thing to note: if you are not a particularly adventurous eater and are weirded out by textures that are unfamiliar (or if you don’t like mushrooms), this is perhaps not for you.
Pros: Vegan option available , Delicious, local, fresh, seasonal produce , Unique experience
ShawnB
Is this Japanese-owned? Is it pure vegan?
Read moreGuest
lauralyn
Points +95
Stayed twice at Kashiwaya! - Edit
This is a great onsen for vegans or people with food allergies. It's also tattoo friendly! There are 3 private outdoor baths and an indoor public bath. I've gone with multiple guests each time I went to Kashiwaya. They were able to accommodate onion and peanut allergies with no problem as well as offering vegan meals.
Read moreThe kaiseki dinner is wonderful and it's a ton of food. I also recommend trying the Shima Onsen sake that you can purchase for 1500 yen. The private baths are great since you can enjoy them with your entire group.
My only complaint is that the breakfast served isn't totally to my taste. The "Western Breakfast" included a vegan pumpkin soup that was delicious but the main part of it was just sauteed mushrooms that I wasn't a fan of. I would have preferred to have tofu. The "Japanese Breakfast" looked like it had more variety but it was also a lot of mushrooms.
On the way back to Tokyo I found that there was a local organic bakery that sold goods at Nakanojo Station and I picked up some vegan manjuu buns!
The train can be a little confusing to take, but there's the option to take the Express Kusatsu train which takes two hours from Ueno to Nakanojo, however, it does not run very often so check the schedule. The slightly shorter option but includes a transfer, is taking the Shinkansen to Takasaki, then switching to a local train to get to Nakanojo Station. From Nakanojo station, you take Bus #1 to Seiryuu no Yu Iriguchi. Overall it takes about 2-3 hours to get there from Ueno station.
Pros: friendly staff, speaks good English, delicious food
Guest
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