Azumi, New Modern Japanese Ryokan Concept From Founder Of Aman

Zecha also founded a resort chain in Vietnam called Azerai. It currently has 3 resorts in Can Tho (a gorgeous new build on an island in the middle of Mekong river), Hue (La Residence, formerly MGallery - a historical property on the shore of Huong river in Hue, the capital of Nguyen dynasty) and Ke Ga Bay (formerly Princess d'Annam, SLH - Indochine style boutique resort near an old light house).
You can have a look here: https://azerai.com/founder-and-history/

Wow! This is so exciting - definitely adding to my bucket list and wondering if this will remain a Japan-centric focus or if this has opportunity to become a global brand. Fingers crossed!!

A lovely location and beautiful accommodation, but what about the baths? An essential part of the ryokan experience is a visit to the baths and for me there has to be a rotenburo, either in the room or public. A nice soak in a beautiful outdoor bath is the thing I’m looking for in a ryokan stay.

Also interested in the food as well, that is such an amazing region for food and most Japanese booking will be booking a package with dinner. No availability yet so I can’t check it out in the booking flow.

Bookmarked though, worth further investigation.

One of my most memorable hotel and meal experiences was a ryokan in Takayama. I would certainly be up for trying an ultra-luxury version, although second Ed's comments that the baths and food will be key

Interesting! I too have tried a traditional ryokan and not been the biggest fan for the same reasons you cited (the rigidity of the schedule, lack of flexibility, how they put away the bedding during the day). I get that it's a fascinating experience, but I ended up preferring to stay in hotels of which Japan also does really really well.

I've got a big more down the booking flow (doesn't work very well on mobile but fine on desktop). If you stay on the Yubune bathhouse side it starts at a very reasonable 11,000 yen per night. Showers only in the rooms, but hey, it is a ryokan so you were going to the public bath anyway. Still no idea about the food. The Plan page still only shows breakfast only plans.

You could make a lovely weekend starting with a stay at the U2 in Onomichi, a gentle bike ride to the ryokan on the Shimanami Kaido; Bath, dinner a sleep and then either bike back of the Boat to Mihara.

I had the good fortune of first meeting Zecha during opening week at Amangiri.

He's a gracious, quiet and fascinating man: The polar opposite of what Aman is now becoming without him at the helm. The refined, quiet class is slowly leaking out of the Aman bubble, replaced by Insta-famous wannabes and regular folks going into massive debt just to get those social media snapshots. It's all so sad.

Azerai Resorts were his reasonably-priced follow up to Aman. He wanted to try to get a younger crowd, but in having stayed in a couple, they never had the attention to detail that the original Amans had. Something was missing. They felt incomplete.

I hope the best for him and his new venture.

This looks simply like a Japanese-inflected Aman, there is absolutely nothing in the description or pictures that says ryokan. It seems to me indistinguishable from any other Aman to be honest, minimalist to a fault and somewhat uninviting.

At what point does a ryokan stop being a ryokan and just be a hotel with Japanese decor?

Yeah, I am the same on the ryoken experience. Fun to do it once, but otherwise it is too regimented for western tastes.

Plus a futon on the floor reminds me too much of my student days. And I get annoyed having to take my shoes off all the time.