The Ryokan Tokyo YUGAWARA (TRT), a ryokan in Yugawara, will hold the seasonal event "Autumn Banquet to Enjoy Yugawara's Autumn Leaves and Literature 2026" (湯河原の紅葉と文学を楽しむ秋の宴2026) from Saturday, November 14 to Sunday, December 13, 2026.
Yugawara Onsen, long loved as a place where literary masters wrote their works, enters its autumn foliage season around mid-November. Manyo Park (万葉公園), the garden of the Yugawara Art Museum (湯河原美術館) and Ikemine Momiji no Sato (池峯もみじの郷) are popular spots for viewing the autumn leaves. The event invites visitors to spend time with literature in the autumn-colored town, with the following offerings.
Event period: Saturday, November 14 to Sunday, December 13, 2026
Autumn-Colored "Pure Literature" Cream Sodas to Choose From
Two cream sodas make their debut for a limited time, and they are made to go with a favorite book.
- Usumomiji (薄紅葉): Expresses the gradient of autumn leaves just beginning to take on color.
- Akiurara (秋うらら): Inspired by the contrast between a calm, clear autumn sky and the red leaves.
A free option is also available to have a "favorite phrase" (推し言葉) placed on the glass. The phrase can be from any genre, such as a favorite line of verse, a favorite lyric or a signature line. Guests can enjoy a glass that is entirely their own, topped with the words they hold dear.
- Price: ¥880
- Available to: Day-trip hot spring (日帰り湯治) guests or overnight guests
Limited-Time Lighting of the Courtyard Terrace
The courtyard, where the itaya maple (イタヤカエデ) trees take on autumn color, is lit up for a limited time. It serves as an evening deck for cooling off after a hot spring bath, where guests can enjoy the fresh autumn night breeze. The trees in the courtyard seen through the lounge windows are also lit, so the view can be enjoyed from indoors as well.
- Lighting hours: About 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM
Make Your Own Maple Leaf Book Cover with Tataki-Zome
Guests can turn their memory of the beautiful autumn leaves into a book cover to take home. Tataki-zome (叩き染め) is a plant-dyeing technique in which a plant is laid under washi paper or similar material and pounded from above with a wooden mallet to transfer its pigment and shape. Participants choose their favorite from five kinds of leaves, each with a different color according to its kikotoba (木言葉, "tree words"), and make an original maple leaf book cover.
Fallen leaves that participants bring themselves can also be used.
- Price: ¥1,350
- Available to: Day-trip hot spring (日帰り湯治) guests or overnight guests
About The Ryokan Tokyo YUGAWARA
The Ryokan Tokyo YUGAWARA is a hot spring ryokan in Yugawara Onsen, which has such a long history that it was even mentioned in the Man'yoshu and was loved by literary figures such as Natsume Soseki and Akutagawa Ryunosuke. With plans such as an adult manuscript-writing pack (大人の原稿執筆パック) and a self-care pack (御自愛パック), it pursues a new form of ryokan that is not bound by the conventional idea of a ryokan.
- Address: 742 Miyakami, Yugawara-machi, Ashigarashimo-gun, Kanagawa Prefecture
- Website: https://www.theryokantokyo-ofurocafe.com/
Yugawara Onsen Ofuro Cafe HITOMA
Ofuro Cafe HITOMA (おふろcafe HITOMA) is the day-trip hot spring inside TRT. It offers ink-making experiences, a hot spring cafe, a shop and other attractions that are just right for a break between travel stops.
