Hotel Sunshine Iwaki

Being so close to the station made getting around easy. The room felt a little dated, but 5,000 yen a night with breakfast included seemed like a bargain. The staff were polite at check-in, and the breakfast-area cleaner and the person I saw at checkout both greeted me warmly. Their hospitality stood out.

The small bath is why I rated it 2, though the shower pressure was good and the service was nice. If the bath size doesn't bother you, I can see this being a 4. Breakfast comes free, and the front desk has decent amenities, including shampoo and bath salts that gave me a bit of a love-hotel impression. My room just had a futon on the floor, but there was an outlet beside it, so charging my phone was easy. It's an old, established-feeling hotel, and sometimes the rooms smell musty. Probably fine if all you need is somewhere to sleep.

Being right by the downtown area was ideal. I appreciated the welcome drink and bath salts, though the bathtub was so small it was really only usable as a shower. The hallway from the elevator to the room was dark, and the carpet there and in the room had a lot of stains. The room didn't seem to have been cleaned very thoroughly. Its tables were small and awkwardly placed, which made it hard to eat or drink while watching TV.

Breakfast is free, and the spread that day had grilled salted Atka mackerel, meatballs, scrambled eggs, and coarsely ground chicken. They served Hitomebore rice from Fukushima Prefecture's Nakadori region. The hotel is Hotel Sunshine Iwaki in Iwaki City, Fukushima Prefecture, just a one-minute walk from JR Iwaki Station. A panel featuring the Takahashi family, used as a BBH Hotel Group advertising tool, greets you. I stayed October 11-12, 2025.