Of course, no ryokan is complete without exquisite Japanese cuisine and here, Tenshou Restaurant offers contemplative meals set against a backdrop of curved timber ceilings and blond wood floors. “Radium Kagaya is renowned for its Japanese kaiseki cuisine, meticulously prepared with strictly selected seasonal ingredients from Japan and Taiwan. The cuisine adheres to the Japanese principle of ‘Shun’, which means ‘seasonal’ or ‘in season’, embracing the beauty of each season through timely ingredients,” Chen explained.
During my visit, I had the autumn cuisine, where ingredients like persimmons, Hang chrysanthemums, chestnuts, crabs adorned with green leaves and red maple are composed into artful presentations. Added Chen: “Embodying the culinary spirit of ‘creating from the ingredients, chefs personally visit farms and production sites to integrate the rich flavours of local ingredients into the kaiseki dishes, offering an authentic taste of Yamato (Japanese) elegance.”
Yamato can also be found in the hotel’s Japanese’s banquet halls, divided into six venues floored with tatami and timber. One of them, visible from the elevator, evokes a Japanese tea courtyard with an elevated platform edged by sand, rocks and hanging lamps. Here, guests are treated to a daily tea ceremony performance.
While Radium Kagaya’s environs provide a beautiful Instagram backdrop, the real poetry lies in the visceral encounters of service, space and standards. There is a sense of place and escape from the hurly burly of urban anxiety. Keep your mobile phone away and simply indulge in the sumptuous old-school allure, dedicating all of it to memory.