Renaissance Tanagura

We were the only diners that evening. Eating by ourselves in such a large room felt a little lonely, but it was peaceful. The office-like partitions made the space look a bit dull. Dinner, though, was much better than I expected, and there was so much of it. I later learned it was the chef's special feature. It was a shame such good food was served in an almost empty dining room. I really enjoyed it. The meal included vinegared octopus; sashimi of real tuna, horse mackerel, and red shrimp; Fumotoyama Plateau pork and vegetables cooked on a ceramic grill; fried lotus root with plum, an eggplant sandwich, and asparagus with matcha salt; grilled eel and eggplant; steamed Spanish mackerel with kelp and sakura shrimp paste; rice cooked in a rice kettle with miso soup and pickles; and white peach sorbet with matcha warabi mochi. Breakfast was a buffet, mostly with prepared food, which was quite a contrast to dinner. There were quite a few people at breakfast, perhaps because many guests were only staying for that meal. When I checked out, nobody was at the front desk, so I had to leave the key in the locker. The room was roomy and fairly clean, and I liked the mountain view from the balcony. The building is old, so the balcony rail was a little rusty. I imagine it’s hard to keep up with maintenance. I hadn’t known where to park, so I asked at reception and left the car near the entrance. Before dinner I went to the bath. The large public bath is in a separate building, so it’s quite a walk, but it’s spacious and has a sauna. I tried that too. The bath was empty, and just one other person entered the sauna after me. Time went slowly when I was alone, but I stayed about 11 minutes by chatting with the person next to me. The place seems geared toward sports, as its name suggests, so it doesn’t seem to attract many regular overnight guests.

The accommodation gets a little dark at night. Since this is a sports facility, even with just two of us we had to share a room. Tanagura Onsen on the grounds is handy. Breakfast starts at 7:00, so anyone leaving earlier can’t eat, and there’s no discount for missing it.

I stayed in a cottage on May 5-6, 2025. Renaissance Tanagura in Tanagura Town, Fukushima Prefecture, is a sports-focused resort that also welcomes the general public. I booked through a travel website just as I would a regular hotel. The cottage building was farther to the right of the hotel, which sits beside the clubhouse with its reception and restaurant. Inside, the kitchen was between the entrance and the room, with the washroom, toilet, and bath to the kitchen’s right. The room was designed for sports training camps and was huge. Six beds were spread out rather than squeezed together, with a round table and chairs near the entrance. It was more than twice the size of my usual room, and felt oddly spacious for one person. I had breakfast in the clubhouse restaurant. It’s a large place. I arrived right as breakfast started, and there weren’t any other guests. Nobody else came in while I was there. Unlike business hotels where people often eat early and head out, the morning here seemed unhurried. Eating alone in such a big restaurant felt a little strange, but the food was delicious. The resort is up in the mountains. I could hear pheasants, Japanese bush warblers, other birds, and frogs croaking.

We came mainly for the tennis courts. They were in good condition and easy to play on, though a few spots felt slippery. Tennis under a blue sky was lovely, but one side of the court is always right in front of you, so sunglasses are a must. The place is a bit old, and the doors creak, but we didn’t run into any major problems. There are smoking and non-smoking rooms, so choose non-smoking if cigarette smoke bothers you. There are lots of places for kids to play, both indoors and out, and it seems like a good choice for families.