Hotel Folkloro Sanrikukamaishi

The lobby coworking area has handy outlets, and the location beside Kamaishi Station is hard to beat. You can reach it through the arcade without getting rained on, and there's a convenience store close by. I've stayed several times, mostly for work, and the newer rooms and facilities have stayed clean. Staff and amenities are what you'd expect at a business hotel, and I had no issues. There's also a large bath and an open-air bath, though I haven't used them. The views depend on which side you're on: from the front, morning sun catches the smoke rising from Kamaishi Steel Works, while the other side looks toward the tracks and Sanriku Railway trains, including the wrapped Mayuri. Rice at breakfast is delicious, but the buffet used to be much better before COVID, when it even had sashimi. Lately it seems to have dropped off. As a standard business hotel, it's satisfactory. Kamaishi Station's standing soba is tasty too, so the value question is a close call. Nearby, Sheep Plaza sells fresh seafood cheaply. If you spot Iwate's famous milk bottle sea urchin, it's worth buying, though it's become pricey in recent years.