Hotel New Akao in Atami, Shizuoka, will reopen its French restaurant "Bonheur" (ボヌール) on the 3rd floor of the Horizon Wing on October 21, 2026, after updating the interior and replacing the furniture. The hotel has been carrying out phased renovations since April 2026 to improve the quality of guests' stays, and this renewal is part of that work.
The 180-degree view over Sagami Bay and the classical character of the room remain, while the space has been redone to evoke a seaside resort. The restaurant is also launching the "Renewal Commemorative Course," an 8-course menu that uses seasonal ingredients from the surrounding area. The course uses vessels made from thinned Atami hinoki cypress, co-created with Atami Kikoriizu (熱海キコリーズ), a local NPO working on forest conservation in Atami. The course is offered as dinner in an overnight stay plan, and can also be enjoyed as a meal only, without staying at the hotel.
A Resort-Style Dining Room Overlooking Sagami Bay
The renovation updated the floor, ceiling, and lighting, and added new chairs for the dining room. A wine cellar was also added to expand the wine lineup. Details include gold decoration on the tops of the pillars, and the classical feel has been kept while the room now suggests a refined seaside resort. Through the glass-walled dining room, diners can look out over Sagami Bay in a 180-degree view and enjoy French cuisine as the scenery changes from dusk into night.
Three Dishes Chosen by the Chef for Their Vessels, Ingredients, and Cooking
Three dishes from the 8-course menu, each reflecting the chef's choices in vessels, ingredients, and cooking methods, are highlighted below.
Amuse-bouche: Small Bonheur (小さなボヌール)
The course opens with an amuse-bouche served in an original vessel made from thinned Atami hinoki cypress. The vessel was created together with Atami Kikoriizu. The group had been looking for ways to use the wood left over from thinning overcrowded, neglected hinoki forests, and the hotel approached them, which led to the collaboration. The thinned timber produced by the forest conservation work is used as tableware for the meal.
Première entrée: Aged Winter Flounder with Seasonal Garniture (熟成寒平目 季節のガルニチュール)
The hors d'oeuvre uses "kan-hirame" (寒平目), flounder in its winter season that builds up fat toward the cold months. To bring out the flavor of the fish, it is carefully prepared and then aged slowly in ice at 0 to 3°C for a total of 48 hours. The aged flounder is served in two preparations, raw and lightly seared, so diners can enjoy the taste of each.
Deuxième entrée: Boundary Between Sea and Field, Turnip from Food Culture Renaissance (海と畑の境界 フードカルチャー・ルネサンスのカブ)
This dish uses a native, fixed-variety (在来種・固定種) turnip grown at the farm Food Culture Renaissance (フードカルチャー・ルネサンス), which practices natural farming in Mishima, on the western foothills of Hakone. Grown without pesticides or chemical fertilizers, the turnip has a robust flavor and rich aroma. The turnip itself is slowly heated at a low temperature in kombu extract. The leaves and stems are made into a purée with local Izu white miso, and the skin is roasted into a fragrant powder, so that no part of the ingredient goes to waste. The plate combines the bounty of the field (turnip) with the bounty of the sea (kombu and nori).
Dinner Course Overview (Dining Only)
- Course name: [Renewal Commemoration] French Course Finished with Master Craftsmanship (【リニューアル記念】匠の技で仕上げたフレンチコース)
- Venue: French restaurant "Bonheur," Horizon Wing 3F, Hotel New Akao
- Sales period: October 21 (Wednesday), 2026 to February 28 (Sunday), 2027
- Hours: 5:30 PM to 9:30 PM (last entry 8:00 PM)
- Price: ¥16,500 (tax included)
- Reservations: Accepted on the official website or by phone (TEL: 0557-83-6161)
- Reservation URL: https://www.tablecheck.com/ja/shops/hotel-new-akao-bonheur/reserve
Renewal Commemorative Course Menu (8 Courses)
- Amuse-bouche: Small Bonheur (小さなボヌール)
- Première entrée: Aged winter flounder with seasonal garniture (熟成寒平目 季節のガルニチュール)
- Deuxième entrée: Boundary between sea and field, turnip from Food Culture Renaissance (海と畑の境界 フードカルチャー・ルネサンスの蕪)
- Troisième entrée: Cromesquis of French duck (フランス産鴨のクロメスキ)
- Potage: Crème du Barry with black truffle and Comté (クレームデュバリー 黒トリュフ コンテ)
- Poisson: Scale-grilled tilefish with Sagami Bay consommé (甘鯛鱗焼き 相模湾のコンソメ)
- Viande: Pan-fried Shizuoka Sodachi (静岡そだち) beef fillet with truffle sauce, served with foie gras and seasonal vegetables (静岡そだちフィレ肉のポワレ トリュフソース フォワグラと季節野菜添え)
- Dessert: Shizuoka-grown strawberry and pistachio (静岡産いちご・ピスタチオ)
Stay Plan Overview
- Plan name: [Renewal Commemoration] [French] French Course Finished with Master Craftsmanship. All Rooms with Ocean Views (【リニューアル記念】【フレンチ】匠の技で仕上げたフレンチコース。全室オーシャンビュー)
- Sales period: October 21 (Wednesday), 2026 to February 28 (Sunday), 2027
- Price: From ¥27,110 per adult, based on two guests sharing one room, one night with two meals (tax included; bathing tax and accommodation tax not included)
- Reservations: Accepted on the official website or by phone (TEL: 0557-83-6161)
- Reservation URL: https://booking.iconia.co.jp/booking/result?code=a1bb7a81-a922-4d10-b952-bb6c128d7997&is_including_occupied=true&hotel_plan_code=HP412717892901151591449275&search_type=undated
About Restaurant "Bonheur"
The image is for illustration purposes.
"Bonheur" is a French restaurant on the 3rd floor of the hotel's Horizon Wing. The glass-walled dining room looks out over Sagami Bay in a 180-degree view, and the scenery changing from dusk into night adds to the occasion. Dinner is a course meal that makes use of local ingredients, with the chef delicately preparing rich Shizuoka produce, including carefully grown vegetables from the Mishima area on the western foothills of Hakone. Diners can enjoy a visually beautiful French course together with a view that is unique to Atami.
Restaurant "Bonheur" official Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/restaurant_bonheur/
About Hotel New Akao
Hotel New Akao is a resort hotel in Atami, Shizuoka, with a location right in front of the sea. It stands on the cliffs of Nishikigaura in Atami, which is part of the Izu Peninsula Geopark, certified as a Japan Geopark in 2012, and all guest rooms have ocean views.
The hotel resumed operations in December 2022 under its original name, Hotel New Akao, and 250 rooms in the Ocean Wing opened on July 1, 2023. The lobby was renovated in November 2024, and a lobby shop selling goods with the hotel logo opened at the front desk of the Ocean Wing, which has a Showa-retro atmosphere. Since April 2026, the hotel has been carrying out phased renovations to improve the quality of stays. In July of the same year, a kids floor opened on the 12th floor of the Ocean Wing, with the "Hotel New Akao Kids Park" and family-oriented rooms including the "Kids Room Premiere."
- Official website: https://hotel-new-akao.com/
- Address: 1993-250 Atami, Atami, Shizuoka 413-0033
- TEL: 0557-83-6161
- Access: About 10 minutes by shuttle bus from JR Atami Station
- Number of rooms: 353
