Yunokawa Kanko Hotel Shoen

The public bath was fairly average, with one indoor and one outdoor section that each seemed able to fit around 20 people. The outdoor one has a roof, so you can’t enjoy the falling snow while soaking. The road into the hotel is narrow and easy to miss, squeezed between the building and a river. Parking is limited for a hotel this size and fills up easily. If that happens, you have to use the lot at the back, which is also tricky to reach. Our tatami room faced the airport. Seeing the runway lights at night was cool, and with the window shut we couldn’t hear jet noise. The room was spacious but a bit dated, which was fine for 18,200 yen per night with half board. Breakfast and dinner were buffets with at least 30-40 choices. Dinner included free-flow drinks, which was a highlight: four kinds of sake, one warm and three cold, plus one beer with no brand displayed.

I stayed five nights, Saturday to Thursday in June 2025, using the weekday deal with dinner and breakfast. I spent the first night in the Purple building and the rest in Yellow, which is very close to the airport. The buffet meals repeated every day. Dinner’s kimchi and fried rice were oishikatta, and I liked making my own coffee floats. At breakfast, I especially appreciated the clam soup and onsen egg. The Yellow room was older than the Purple one and smelled of stale tobacco. I was glad the lift was near the carpark entrance, and the Lavender bath was quieter, often with nobody else there. The staff member who checked me in also checked me out and helped forward my suitcase to Tokyo. She was friendly and helpful, had taught herself English by watching YouTube, and spoke it very well. What a genius! The hotel is lucky to have her.

The room was huge. Mine had two beds, but we chose to sleep on the futon instead. I booked a non-smoking room, so I had to go to level 1 whenever I wanted to smoke. The place is old and not high class, and I felt slightly overcharged booking through Agoda. Its listing photo was misleading: “private bath” didn’t mean a private onsen, which was disappointing. The private onsen is reasonably priced if you want a bit of privacy. If you’re confident in Japanese, it may be worth calling to book directly for a better rate. Breakfast and dinner are buffets, with ordinary food that was the same for both nights and got a little boring after the first day. Dinner does include unlimited alcohol, such as whisky, beer, and sake, so it’s definitely worth it for people who enjoy drinking.

The staff were polite and really nice. The hotel is close to the bus and tram stops, beside both the sea and the river. My room was clean, attractive, spacious, and had everything I needed. The bath was nice too, and for the price it felt like a very good deal.