HOTEL ARM FUTABA and SAKURANOSATO FUTABA

I booked the room with buffet dinner and breakfast. Both meals were simple Japanese food, and very good. It’s a low-key business hotel with basic rooms at a reasonable price. There’s also a shuttle to and from the train station, which cost 200 yen when I wrote this in April 2024.

I stayed here while on a motorcycle tour. The parking lot is huge, which made parking easy, and there’s a convenience store across the street. Many of the staff were really kind, and breakfast had a good selection and tasted good. The location has few entertainment options, and the TV only gets terrestrial and BS channels, with no YouTube or Netflix. My bed was too soft to be comfortable. The attached hot spring is clean and spacious, but I wish it stayed open later so I wouldn’t have had to use the tiny unit bathroom, the smallest I’ve seen in a hotel. This is a valuable place to stay for people working in the area. I hope it keeps improving.

The rooms had enough space, and each one came with a humidifier and air purifier. Guests can use the public bathhouse next door for free. During Golden Week, lots of people driving north from Joban Road stayed here. The station shuttle stop is right beside the hotel, and the area next to Futaba Industrial Center was lively during the day. The room cleaning could have been better: there was dust on the bedside table and windowsill, and the refrigerator was a little dirty. Still, as the only hotel in the Futaba area, it’s quite good. The front desk staff also take care of reception and cooking in the kitchen, which seems like a lot to handle.

The public bath next door is free for guests. I stretched out in the hot water, then unwound in the sauna. The hotel itself was very comfortable too, with a clean building and rooms and really friendly front desk staff. The washing machine is free to use. Just note that the microwave is on the second floor, not the first. I stayed here at the end of last year.