Palm Beach County wants Japanese inn to grace Morikami

If you know how to build and operate a traditional Japanese inn and spa, Palm Beach County wants to hear from you.

County officials are sending out an unusual request for proposals. They want someone to open a ryokan — a traditional Japanese inn — at Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens in West Delray.

A ryokan could serve as an unusual attraction and zen-filled getaway for both residents and tourists, said Commissioner Mary Lou Berger, who represents the area.

“This an authentic Japanese hotel — the way it would be in Japan,” Berger said. “From the plans and what I've heard about, it is high-end. It will be as if you were in Japan.”

Ryokans throughout Japan offer guests hot communal baths, often from a hot spring. Guests savor dishes made from local ingredients in an environment immersed in the country’s culture. Guests stay in tatami-matted rooms and are given traditional robes — called yukata — to wear.

Eric Call, director of Palm Beach County Parks and Recreation, said the idea for a ryokan has been floated since the Morikami Museum was created in the 1970s. The county put out a request in 2013 for a ryokan, but the project did not come to fruition.

No tax dollars would be spent on the project, and the county isn’t looking for a standard hotel, Call said. It must fit in with the Morikami’s mission to present Japanese cultural experiences.

“It’s to be a sedentary spa that mimics the cerebral surroundings of the Morikami Gardens,” he said.

Morikami Gardens recorded nearly 117,000 visitors this past budget year, according to county records. County officials say they have seen a spike of interest in the gardens since first lady Melania Trump toured the Morikami with Akie Abe, the Japanese prime minister’s wife.

The Morikami highlights a piece of South Florida history. It features authentic tea ceremonies and a museum spotlighting Japanese art and artifacts. Visitors can stroll through 16 acres of gardens.

South Florida’s ties to Japan date back more than a century. In the early 1900s, Japanese immigrants started the Yamato farming colony near Boca Raton. The colony never grew beyond about 30 or 35 people, and most of the farmers returned to Japan or left for other parts of the United States.

During World War II, the few remaining farmers lost their land when a judge ordered them to turn over their property. Some of the land went toward building an airfield for Boca Raton; other parcels became the site of Florida Atlantic University.

The property for the park was donated in the 1970s by George Sukeji Morikami, one of the last remaining settlers, in honor of his fellow farmers.