Best Things Nearby:
Amanohashidate, located nearby on the north coast of Honshu, is one of the three most scenic spots in Japan. Kyoto, Nara and Kobe are conveniently reachable by train for daytrips. Boating and fishing are very popular in Kumihama Bay on the Sea of Japan.
Best Things About the Resort:
The people who work at the resort are the friendliest and most helpful that we've ever experienced. The rooms are great. The expense of the accomodations was moderate compared to the other alternatives with comparable furnishings.
Resort Experience:
We expected to have a small room with two twin beds, a private bathroom, and a tiny closet. Typical hotel rooms in Japan do not have a lot of space as space is at a premium. When you have a population half that of the United States in a country the size of California, it is understandable that rooms will be small.
But the room was larger and much more accommodating than we expected. We did have two twin beds, but we also had a full leather couch and overstuffed leather chair with a glass coffee table, a long desk/counter/dresser, color cable TV, small refrigerator, hot water maker (for tea, instant coffee, etcetera) and a deep closet. We had another area with a tatami-covered floor which had a low level table and four seating cushions, during the day, and two futons spread out for the night, offering us a choice of sleeping accommodations. The bathroom came with a shower/tub combination, sink and western style toilet with heated seat, heated bidet and heated spray rinse.
The on-site restaurant offered a full menu of Japanese and western meals. The food was delicious and artfully presented. Service was always excellent. We usually placed our breakfast requests the night before, including what time we wanted to eat so we could make our connections on time. Everything was always ready on time.
The hotel staff went out of their way to make our stay enjoyable, often anticipating our needs and offering ideas to improve our plans. We were staying in a beautiful resort area, which was somewhat remote, requiring us to travel varying distances each day to see all the sites we desired to see. They helped us with train schedules, sometimes suggesting alternate routes in order to fit everything into the limited time we had. Each night we would share our plans for the next day and they would alert us to any flaws they detected. Each morning after breakfast, they had one of the staff take us to the train station. Each evening, when we arrived at the train station, either they were already there waiting for us, or we would call the resort and in eight minutes they would arrive to take us "home".
It's no wonder that resorts in Japan so seldom are offered for exchange. When you're treated as well as we were, you look forward to returning year after year.
- Unit Type: Studio
- Activities: Very Good
- Amenities: Excellent
- Unit Satisfaction: Excellent
- Family Friendliness: Very Good
- Service: Excellent