Himeji Castle Grandvrio Hotel

My friend really enjoyed the hotel’s hot spa. It’s about a 10-minute walk from the station. We hadn’t realized there was a shuttle bus from the station, though it only runs in the afternoon.

The breakfast buffet had both Japanese and Western options, including local Hyogo dishes such as Himeji oden, a fishcake and vegetable stew, and Akashi yaki, soft egg balls with a piece of octopus inside. I especially liked the almond toast with its sweet almond paste. There are several large, comfortable tubs in the public bath, though it isn’t available if you arrive late at night, so I went in the morning. The room is a little old but well maintained. The hotel is a 10-minute walk from the station, outside the city center among office buildings, which keeps it quiet at night. There’s a convenience store nearby.

I found a disposable slipper from the previous guest under the bed, so the room hadn’t been cleaned thoroughly. The large onsen itself felt quite upscale, with different baths, a sauna, and a steam room. The front desk staff spoke English fluently.

The public bath’s no-tattoo rule turned what might have been a four-star stay into two stars for me. We arrived in late October, 2024, and the exterior looked nice. Check-in was simple for me, my wife, and our friend, who had booked separate rooms, and staff spoke enough English to help. When I asked about tattoos in the bath, the answer was a clear no. As an obviously white tourist, I was surprised Japanese baths still had this attitude. We’re paying customers, clearly not criminals. Our first bath experience in Gunma had been fantastic, and tattoos weren’t an issue there. I’d tried to check the policy in advance, but this hotel gave no information about whether tattoos were allowed. It was very disappointing after a day on our feet dragging luggage around. I hope I’m not too tattooed to eat at the restaurant tomorrow! After that, I started noticing things I might otherwise have let go. The room has clearly been smoked in at some point, judging by the stains on the bathroom ceiling, and it’s so small that even one suitcase is a problem, let alone two. I’d read complaints about water temperature and smelly AC, but ours was fine, so that was a small redeeming point. Soundproofing was poor, though, and we could hear pedestrian crossings beeping outside even on the 8th floor. Seriously, get with the times and drop the ridiculously arbitrary no-tattoo policy.