もったいない — SUSTAINABILITY
What does it mean
to waste nothing?
Mottainai, a quiet regret for waste, and a care for things used well. It shapes the small decisions of the ryokan: the water we draw, the food we cook, the building we keep, and the Country we sit lightly upon.
もったいない — THE IDEA
A care for things used well
Mottainai is an old word for the feeling that something good is going to waste. It asks for nothing grand — only attention: to use a thing fully, to mend before replacing, to take no more than is needed.
A ryokan is built for this. Six rooms, one kitchen, a building kept rather than replaced. Run slowly and well, the place asks little of the valley around it — and that is the point.
実践 — IN PRACTICE
How it shows up
Quietly, in the day-to-day — a single garbage bin leaves the property each week, our soaps and bath amenities are made in-house, and we ask guests to bring their own toothbrush and toothpaste. A few of the ways we try to take the long view, with more to add as we measure and improve.
里山
The land
Native woodland and gardens are cared for with a light hand — habitat before tidiness, shade before lawn. We avoid chemical herbicides and pesticides, relying instead on prevention, thoughtful planting and physical methods of weed and pest control.
Along our boundary with Doctors Gully, hundreds of drought-hardy oak trees have been planted with the future in mind. Chosen deliberately for their ability to create deep shade and retain moisture, they will gradually establish a cooler, more resilient microclimate as the climate warms. In time, they will provide a more comfortable refuge for birds and wildlife, and for the guests who come here to slow down beneath their canopy.
We believe stewardship means making decisions whose greatest benefits may not be enjoyed for decades. The landscape we care for today is as much for tomorrow’s guests as it is for those who visit us now.
地産地消
The kitchen
The food we serve begins close to home. Most of our vegetables are grown within 20 kilometres of the ryokan, spray-free wherever possible and organic when available. Some are picked from our own garden, nourished by compost we make on site and returned to the soil that feeds it.
Each Sunday morning, Catherine visits the local growers’ market, meeting directly with the people who grow our produce and selecting the week’s vegetables by hand with Chef Yu’s menu in mind. Every wine we pour comes from nearby vineyards, our pork is raised on regenerative pastures, and when ingredients can’t be grown locally, we source them through trusted local family businesses such as Tonna’s and Daylesford Meat Co.
We believe the shortest journey is often the best one—not only because it leaves a lighter footprint, but because it supports the people and places that make this region what it is. The menu changes not because we seek variety, but because we choose to cook with what the season and the region are ready to offer.
温泉
The water
Water heated and shared with care; the bath warmed for the day, not run to waste. [Catherine/Kimika: water use, heating, energy]
永続 — THE LONG VIEW
Kept for the long while
Japan honours the long, careful preservation of its traditional culture. We bring the same patience here keeping and mending rather than replacing, and to leave this corner of the Central Highlands much as we found it.
We acknowledge the Dja Dja Wurrung people as Traditional Custodians of this Country, whose care for this land runs far longer than ours, and from whom there is much to learn.