Azumi Setoda
Setoda, Ikuchijima (Onomichi, Hiroshima Prefecture), Seto Inland Sea, Japan
Adrian Zecha's first Azumi ryokan, in a restored 140-year-old merchant compound on Ikuchijima, halfway along the Shimanami Kaido.
- Open
- Opened March 2021
Why we recommend it
Azumi Setoda is a ryokan thought through again rather than copied. The house is a real merchant compound, restored by an architect who works in the sukiya tradition, and the changes are deliberate: guests eat together in a dining room, and the bathhouse across the street is shared with the town. The result is a stay that belongs to Setoda instead of standing apart from it.
The position is the other reason. Setoda lies at about the midpoint of the 70-kilometre route described in OKYTO's guide to cycling the Shimanami Kaido, which makes the inn the natural overnight stop, and Naoshima, Teshima and Inujima, the Setouchi art islands, are within reach in the same region.
Location
Setoda is on Ikuchijima, an island on the western side of the Setouchi region, administered by the city of Onomichi in Hiroshima Prefecture. The island is one of those crossed by the Shimanami Kaido, the road and cycling route over the Seto Inland Sea, and Setoda sits at roughly its midpoint.