Shiojitei (Review)

In the heart of Ise-Shima National Park and bordered by the jagged line of the Pacific coast, Toba City is a pleasant sightseeing destination in Mie Prefecture. It oversees wonderful natural landscapes and it is quite naturally that several luxury hotel 🏨 resorts have settled here. Not far from the main station, the beautiful Shiojitei Hotel belongs to Mitsui Fudosan group, that also owns the neighboring Toba International Hotel.

Shiojitei supplies all you need for your stay: the hotel itself, the spa resort and the gastronomic restaurant. No need to go out once you have settled here: the facilities are comfortable and the staff is hospitable and discreet. Everything is made for customers to relax and fully enjoy the sightseeing of the area.

Classical or revamped Japanese rooms

The rooms are quite large, and thanks to their location in building’s upper floors, benefit from a nice view on Toba Bay, especially at sunrise when sunlight pierces through the windows. The rooms offer several types of Japanese-style layouts:

• The traditional atmosphere with futon bedding and low-profile furniture; or,
• The more modern and revisited decoration with a Western-style bedding and a lounge area with armchairs and sofa.

At the ground floor, you will find the hotel’s premium lodging offer: 60 to 80m² suites including a separate night area, a living-room with a desk and a private outdoor bath on a terrace.

All the rooms have a private (sometimes small) bathroom 🛁 and toilet 🚽. The air conditioning and Wi-Fi connection are also standard equipment. Fresh and/or cold drinks, as well as cosmetics of the Mikimoto brand, are available for the guests who can don a beautiful yukata 👘 made in Ise cotton to walk in the hotel.

Discovery of the Mikimoto Pearls hot bath

Shiojitei is especially interesting for its hot baths that are unique in the region. The hotel has indeed being collaborating for several years with Mikimoto Cosmetics, a company elaborating beauty products based on Mikimoto pearls culture. Their partnership created the pearl bath, called Pearl Aurora Bath that we highly recommend. Specific components such as conchiolin, minerals and pearl collagen are added to hot water to create a special bath that leaves the skin soft and shiny. The color of the water changes according to the seasons: blue in summer and golden in winter.

The Pearl Aurora Bath is a rotenburo, that is to say an outdoor bath, to fully enjoy the view on the Japanese garden. Note that it is not recommended to go beyond the sheltered area, unless you don’t mind flashing the other guests in their rooms.

Inside, the large shared bath called Therapy Bath is more classical and provides a relaxing time after a day of sightseeing.

Delicate regional cuisine

Two Japanese gastronomy restaurants are available at the hotel:

• Dining Shiraishi, that serves a standard food, the daily meals from breakfast to dinner;
• Teppanyaki Kiyoishi, as its name implies, is an iron griddle restaurant, with food cooked by a chef. Reservation is required for lunch and dinner in this more high-end venue.

The dishes of these restaurants highlight the local specialties such as lobster, abalone, and Mikumano beef, from cattle raised in the Kumano area in the south of Mie prefecture. Seafood amateurs will be delighted by the unique courses that change every day.

The main restaurant room also offers a beautiful view: through large window, one can see the Japanese garden and a nice green lawn spreading to the hotel’s pier. A few seats were arranged on the Sea Terrace to relax by the water.

Since 2020 and the Coronavirus 🦠 pandemic, Shiojitei stepped up the hygiene and cleaning procedures in the hotel : mandatory face mask 😷, regular body temperature check, availability of hand sanitizer and a more individual restaurant service to limit movements and ensure social distancing.