HigashimaeOnsen Hotel Akitaya

The front desk staff were friendly, but the woman at the hot springs always seemed listless, and that made guests uncomfortable. The rooms themselves were very old, with marks that looked like tar stains, and they hadn’t been cleaned properly. We found several hairs and other furry debris around the room. Guests also had to lay out their own futons. Since I checked in just before 10pm, getting them set up was quite a struggle.

I got annoyed by how the staff handled tablet orders. Lots of elderly people come here to bathe, and when they ask for help, the staff are unfriendly and don’t explain how to use it. They just tell them to go ahead and order, when they could simply ask what they want and enter it for them if they’re not busy.

There’s a hot spring facility, and the room baths use hot spring water. But there aren’t any amenities, and the shampoo in small packets at the front desk can leave your hair squeaky. I’d bring your own.

I started my morning with a soak, then had a tasty breakfast at Restaurant Akitaya on the hot spring side. I’d arrived the night before, on Thursday, September 18, 2025, for a bike run in Hokkaido. After checking in, I went straight to the nearby day-use bath, Higashimae Onsen Shinwa no Yu. It’s great that hotel guests can use it for free as often as they like. Dinner at the hotel restaurant, Izakaya Akitaya, was delicious too.