After finishing our entire loop of the island, we headed back past Anbo to check into our accommodation for the next two nights. We had splashed out and booked two nights at Sankara Resort & Spa. The resort was newly refurbished, taking over buildings from an existing hotel and creating a very exclusive environment right in the thick of the forest, backed up against some mountains, with a distant view of the ocean below.
We checked in a little late (check in starts from 3.30, we were there around 5) and my boyfriend became quite annoyed at me once he realised how much he had been missing out on. We parked and were taken to the lobby building in a golf buggy where we checked in and were told that there were free drinks in the library area up until 4pm (whoops!). We were then taken to our private villa on the golf buggy by our butler who was assigned to us for our whole stay! All the sudden my boyfriend turned from a laid back guy into a high maintenance princess (albeit a nice one), asking millions of questions and trying to see exactly how helpful this butler would be. At one stage I even lost him and found out he was at the library drinking scotch chatting to the butler about what life was like on the island.
The villas were beautifully appointed, you could tell that the buildings were old but they had been refurbished and were spacious and luxurious. The bathroom had a double vanity with amenities that were selected to be eco friendly, an open marbled shower, bathtub and another separate shower. The amenities included boar bristled toothbrushes and hairbrushes to take home and gorgeous skin care and shaving kits.
Super comfy bed and also a day bed to laze on.
Balcony looking down to the ocean in the distance.
Loose leaf tea made by Sankara.
Getting chauffeured around by buggy.
Looking up to the main building, mountains in the background.
The Sankara Bar & Library. You can borrow books, cds & dvds - there are some english titles but mainly japanese.
Looking down from the main building to the Private Villas.
The beautiful pool, bit too rainy and cold to take advantage of this but in warmer months it would be amazing!
Hydrangeas everywhere.
One of many many courses from our dinner in Sankara's Ayana Restaurant. The chef had picked these young vegetables in the morning for the entree.
Quite possibly the best sashimi I have had, lovely dressing and whole pink peppercorns.
Looking into the open kitchen. The produce they used was incredibly fresh and of such good quality.
By now we were absolutely blissed out and beyond pleased with ourselves that we were staying for more than one night. Dinner was amazing, so fresh, delicious and the service from the staff was incredible. We even had the chef come out to say hi to us, practice his english and see if we liked our meals.
Accommodation
Hotel: Sankara Resort & Spa
Price: ¥60,000 for Samudra Villa for 2 people.
Location: 553 Haginoue, Mugio,Yakushima-cho,Kumage-gun,Kagoshima 891-4402 JAPAN
Additional: Rate inclusive of Japanese full course dinner in Ayana restaurant and Breakfast.
Web: http://www.sankarahotel-spa.com/en/
Booking: We booked through via Ryokan Collection again http://www.ryokancollection.com/eng/small/ryokan_story.htm?ryokan=sankara. Or you can book directly through the hotel's website: http://www.sankarahotel-spa.com/en/
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