Izumo Hotel The Cliff
Built into a cliff facing the Sea of Japan in Izumo, this quirky resort has eight rooms, each resembling a cave. Here, you can enjoy a serene stay, quietly gazing at the waves and the magnificent sunsets from your jacuzzi's hot and bubbly water.
Japan is a country where no concept has boundaries, and it has a wide range of quirky accommodations. There are capsule hotels for the price-sensitive travelers who don't mind sleeping in a hole, wicked art hotels, temple stays, but the cliffside underground hotel in the coastal town of Izumo is something new.
The hotel's eight guest rooms are built into a cliff approximately 33 feet (10 meters) above the beach.
They are strategically positioned to offer the best views, and each room comes with a spacious terrace and a jacuzzi.
Garb Cliff Terrace Izumo is a spacious wooden restaurant and café with a minimalist concrete terrace.
It serves Japanese dishes made of locally sourced ingredients, a modern twist on Shimane Prefecture's traditional food and cooking methods.
A 7-dish menu includes hot and cold appetizers, fish, meat, pasta, and dessert, including specialties like the Shimane Wagyu beef, fresh seafood from the Sea of Japan, produce from the nearby Chugoku Mountains, and fresh fruits and vegetables from the Izumo Plain. The wine is Japanese, too, sourced from Okuizumo.
Walking down the concrete cave-like corridor on the basement floor, you'll find the doors to the underground guest rooms.
The rooms' interiors are typically Japanese, with simple but quality materials packaged in a minimalist style. The simple design is meant to calm your mind, and with a huge frontal opening towards the Japanese Sea, the main attraction is nature, which you can observe from your bed or halfway sink in the hot bubble water of the jacuzzi on the terrace.
This allows you to enjoy the stunning sunsets and spend quiet moments taking in the fresh salty air and the sounds of the sea waves.
Upon entering the room, the first thing that catches your eye is the landscape framed by the rounded window.
The scenery changes depending on the time of day. As the sun sets, it has a fantastic atmosphere, and the sky is filled with stars at night.
If you are coming in a larger group, a detached building called "Villa Wanderlust" can accommodate up to seven people.
The sauna is limited to one group per day by reservation, allowing for a unique experience surrounded by the aroma of cedar while gazing at the sea.
Another surreal part of the hotel is the plunge pool adjacent to the sauna, where you can cool down with a mesmerizing view framed between the concrete walls and the pool's surface.
