Hotel Kikuya

The old building does have its limits, but I really liked Hotel Kikuya and would absolutely recommend staying there. It's close to Hakodate station, down a couple of little side roads, and was easy to reach even in the snow. The price was low, and my room was huge, with a living area as well as the bed space. The staff were lovely, and the interior felt fun and personal. Breakfast came with the stay. It was basic, but I appreciated having it included. It was -5C while I was there, and the room stayed chilly even with the heat on. The door was much shorter than me, so I had to duck, and it needed rehanging because it was hard to shut. There were rails for a door between the living area and the bed space, but no door, and I would have preferred one to help keep the heat in. The owners are upfront about the place being old, even putting up a sign that says, "thank you for choosing out old and narrow hotel". I still really liked the place.

My Japanese-style room had no bed, but it was cosy and filled with sunlight from the big window. The shower room was tiny and spotless. The hotel is close to the station and next to the Morning Market square. Motomachi area and Kanemori red brick warehouses are easy to reach on foot or by street cars in just a few minutes. The friendly older owners and reasonable price make this a 9.5/10 stay for budget travellers.

The family who seem to run the hotel were really nice and even gave us a complimentary snack when we arrived. We stayed two nights in February 2024, during winter, and booked a Japanese-style room. When we got there around 9 pm, the futon and tatami were already set up and the heater was on. We liked the room's vintage feel. It was small and compact but functional and very clean. Hakodate morning market, lawson, Hakodate JR station, and the bus terminal are all very close. We walked to redbrick warehouse too, which took about 15 minutes.

A quiet place with friendly service and a convenient location. Breakfast and an elevator are available. The room was large enough to lay out two suitcases, and you can choose between an in-room restroom or a shared shower room. The shower room is fairly small, but there's enough space to do what you need. My room smelled of cigarette smoke, though they provided an air filtering machine. This is a fairly budget-friendly hotel for a short stay. They usually charge 500 yen for each extra person, but the owner waived that extra charge for me.