8 sustainable accommodations in Japan featuring MiYO Organic amenities

What kind of accommodation can you call sustainable? What are the standards?

There are many things to consider around traveling if you have concerns for environmental issues. It may be difficult to pick your perfect accommodation that covers all the aspects you care about. Nevertheless, it would be nice to know your choices in advance.

One of the useful standards is whether accommodations have non-disposable amenities or not. The below is a list of eco-friendly hotels that introduce MiYO Organic, non-disposable amenities, including 100% additive-free organic bamboo toothbrushes (Bamboo toothbrushes link). The founder of the brand was shocked to find that he was throwing away a toothbrush after a single use when staying at a hotel.

This experience made him reconsider hotel amenities, positioning them as “gifts” for the guests, which they can take home and continue to use without discarding. Also, instead of using plastic amenities, he decided to use bamboo because it can absorb CO2 in its growing cycle and be used wholly from its roots to its leaves. Other than organic bamboo toothbrushes, there are also organic hotel amenities including organic bamboo swabs & cotton sets, organic bamboo hair combs and toothpastes.

Here are eight eco-friendly hotels that includes MiYO Organic’s amenities.

ONSEN RYOKAN Yuen Shinjuku (Shinjuku, Tokyo)

Some may be surprised to hear that there is a Japanese style ryokan inn in Shinjuku. ONSEN RYOKAN Yuen Shinjuku is a quiet and calm ryokan that opened in May 2019. Located right in the middle of the city, the place incorporates all the essence of a ryokan, including its stripped-down beauty and hospitality that allows you to feel the four seasons with all your five senses. Once you escape the hustle and bustle of Shinjuku and pass through the inn’s noren curtains (traditional Japanese fabric dividers), you will find yourself in a completely different world.

Moreover, since it’s a ryokan, there’s obviously a hot spring. The open-air bath brought from the Ashinoko Onsen in Hakone, Kanagawa Prefecture is a simple alkaline hot spring that is good for your skin. Enjoy the onsen while overlooking the Shinjuku landscape..

From January 2022, some rooms (YUEN suite, premium double room and double room) have introduced MiYO Organic bamboo toothbrush, comb, and cotton swab amenity sets.

GOOD NATURE HOTEL KYOTO (Shimogyo, Kyoto)

GOOD NATURE HOTEL KYOTO in Kyoto is a hotel based on the concept of “good things for people and nature.” As the name GOOD NATURE suggests, much is done to create a sustainable travel experience. The hotel makes various choices based on whether it is healthy for its people.

To cite a few examples, food waste from restaurants and facilities is composted and used, garbage separation stations and water servers are installed, and agricultural products and processed foods are locally produced for local consumption.

From April 2022, the hotel also began initiatives to sell its amenities. It donates its sales towards creating a recycling-oriented society, including supporting partners in recycling-oriented agriculture and supporting farms that use fair-trade imported agricultural products. Basically, it advises people to bring their own amenities from home.

This is a highly recommended hotel for those who want to experience sustainable accommodation and travel. Check their website for information on their approach to organic and nature, or read about our visit to Good Nature Hotel Kyoto here.

Korinkyo (Kanazawa, Ishikawa)

Opened in Kanazawa, Ishikawa in October 2021, Korinkyo is characterized by its distillation facility on the 1st floor. The hotel staff distills water from the forests of Mt. Hakusan once a day, one of Japan’s three sacred mountains which straddles Ishikawa Prefecture and Gifu Prefecture. Aromatic distilled water is used for saunas on the roof as well as its shampoos.

The hotel’s in-house amenity brand “Petrichor,” which means “smell of grass after the rain” in Greek, can be purchased by weight for shampoos and other items. MiYO Organic’s amenities are also available at the lounge in amounts you only need.

MEGURU (Ishigaki, Okinawa)

MEGURU is a lifestyle hotel that opened on 30 May 2022 in the northern part of Ishigaki Island in Okinawa Prefecture. The accommodation is based on the concept of “awakening the five senses and rediscovering everyday life.” Surrender yourself to the pure nature that cleanses your soul and listen carefully to the voice of leaves that blocks the sound of rain.

Hotel amenities and furnishings have been selected to avoid environmental impact. They can be brought home for personal use in daily life as well as given as gifts. MiYO Organic amenities are among the selected brands.

all day place shibuya (Shibuya, Tokyo)

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by all day place shibuya (@alldayplace_shibuya)

all day place shibuya is a hotel that opened in April 2022. It’s a place where everyone can casually drop by.

On the 1st and 2nd floors of the hotel, there are restaurants including a beer bar where you can drink Mikkeller (a popular craft beer from Denmark) and a cafe for townspeople and travelers to interact. Amenities, including those of MiYo Organic, have been carefully selected to meet eco-friendly standards and of quality that you would want to use on a daily basis. Its sustainable approach can be seen in other areas too. For example, it avoids providing bottled water, recommending people to drink water from the hotel’s water server using glasses prepared in the room.

Shiro no Minka (Hamamatsu, Shizuoka)

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by 白のMINKA (@shirominka)

Shiro no Minka in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka, is an inn that invites visitors who want a more beautiful lifestyle to a slow and creative sensibility. Enjoy the relaxed, artistic mood with vintage furniture from Scandinavia, England, and the United States, a Finnish sauna where you can enjoy a steam bath, and a moss garden where you can hear the sound of water.

The accommodation is eco-friendly, long-lasting, simple, and timeless. Enjoy the slow life they provide!

LINNAS KANAZAWA (Kanazawa, Ishikawa)

Based on the Danish word “HYGGE,” which means “satisfied” and “comfortable,” LINNAS KANAZAWA in Kanazawa, Ishikawa, offers hints for discovering happiness during your stay. Visitors can rent comfortable indoor clothes made from recycled PET bottles that are smooth and comfortable to wear. Bath amenities are from Kimura Soap Co. Ltd., a long-established soap maker in Osaka that has been in business for 96 years. MiYO Organic bamboo toothbrushes and bamboo combs are also available for purchase at the front desk.

In addition, there are various initiatives such as short-term artist-in-residence stays and “Fashion Swap Meet” events where you can barter for fashion items that you no longer use.

Shinya (Tomioka, Hyogo)

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by 志ん屋 神鍋高原 (@shinya__knb)

Vast rice fields, surrounding mountains, the chirping of birds and a sky full of stars. That’s what you’ll find at Shinya, an inn near Kannabe Plateau in Tomioka, the northern part of Hyogo Prefecture. The family-run inn was handed over to the fourth generation owner in April 2022.

Most ingredients used for their meals come from Kannabe Plateau. In particular, the inn takes pride in its seasonal vegetables and rice. How luxurious it is to be able to eat meals using ingredients grown by the staff!!

In addition, Shinya is full of experiences; you can enjoy accessory workshops, a stroll on EV bikes, and an outdoor sauna in the magnificent nature of Kannabe near waterfalls and streams, and more.

Environmentally friendly efforts include repairing broken tableware, reducing the use of paper including business cards and guestbooks, using newspaper instead of plastic garbage bags, and avoiding using plastic toothbrushes. The inn advises visitors to bring their own toothbrush, but for those who forget, they have bamboo toothbrushes for sale.

Originally published on LivHub.
Translated by Ayako Karino.