The inn Kagaya at Wakura Onsen ranked first for 36 years in a row in an annual ranking of Japan’s hotels and inns chosen by professionals. In the ranking announced in December 2016, it fell to third.
Its idea of service is egao de kibataraki, a smile and quick attentiveness. Kagaya tells its staff that guest satisfaction is half the manual. The rest should be brought to 100 by their own sense and their work on the spot.
Kagaya has been closed since the earthquake on the Noto Peninsula on January 1, 2024 damaged it. It is building a new building.