Guest House Sunline Beppu - Hostel

The room looked nice in Japanese style, but the shower setup was a problem. We’d stayed in lots of hostels and guesthouses on our trip, so when we saw shared showers listed, we expected separate stalls. Instead, it was one open area with no privacy, inside the onsen. Since the onsen area closes from 9:00 to 16:00, there’s no way to shower during those hours. And because the showers are in the onsen, you have to go down to the first floor to use them.

A friend and I booked at the last minute and ended up having a really great stay. They let us check in early, and the staff were sweet and personable. They also gave us recommendations when we asked. The location is great, right by the sea, and the coffee in the downstairs cafe was niceee. My only complaint is that the private room didn’t have its own shower.

The price was affordable, the staff were very friendly, and I had a pleasant stay. The dorm bed was roomy, clean and quiet. There’s a free onsen, and you have to shower there too since there’s no separate shower room.

The cafe downstairs was a nice place to sit and have coffee, though there wasn’t much food available. They did have some really good craft beers for sale. We stayed one night in a private room with a bathroom and shared shower facilities. We didn’t use the onsen in the building because we went to another one in town. The room was comfortable and peaceful, and we slept well. The walls are thin, as is pretty typical for a Japanese guesthouse, but there was plenty of heating and we didn’t hear the other guests.