Hotel Hayashiya Ishinomaki

I found a cheap room here without booking ahead. It’s close to the station and the owner-operators were friendly. There was no meal or onsen, but that was fine.

The location is great, with the station close by and plenty of restaurants around. The man at the front desk was friendly and gentlemanly, and I didn’t run into the annoying behavior mentioned in other reviews. The common area has a drink vending machine, microwave, and TV card; my room had an electric kettle and hair dryer. It was a clean, non-smoking single room with an auto-lock, perfectly fine for one night. The price was reasonable too. One small surprise: the bathroom only had shampoo and body wash, so ladies might want to bring their own amenities.

Even though it’s conveniently located about 10 minutes from the station and reasonably priced, I won’t stay here again. At check-in, they only asked my name, seemed annoyed, and just said my room was on the second floor without explaining anything else. That’s not the kind of attitude I expect from hotel front desk staff.

The hotel itself was average, but I was repeatedly told not to smoke because they said I smelled of cigarettes, even though I’ve never smoked in my life. No matter how many times I said I hadn’t smoked, they kept telling me not to, and it really annoyed me. I almost thought about lighting a cigarette and leaving it there without actually smoking it.