Hotel Route-Inn Grand Kitami Ekimae

After taking an evening train to Kitami, this was a comfortable place to stay. I had dinner at the attached restaurant Bikura, and the food tasted good and was good quality. I went back there for the hotel breakfast buffet the next morning. It was tasty and good quality too, so don’t miss it.

I stayed in May 2023. Breakfast was available, and I thought the food was very nice. The bed felt hard. The room air conditioning was centrally controlled, so technically there wasn’t air conditioning in the room. I had to open the window to get some air in.

For the price, it’s a very good place. The rooms are clean and nice, and there’s a small onsen.

I’ve stayed here quite a few times, most recently overnight in early February 2026. The seafood restaurant "Bikura" on the first floor serves izakaya dishes and set meals on the days it’s open, though it closes Sunday nights. It’s also where breakfast is served, and it gets pretty busy first thing in the morning. There isn’t really a signature dish, but something distinctive like the recommended item at Route Inn England in Muroran would make it more memorable. I liked the onion salad dressing, but was disappointed it wasn’t served every day. More onion dishes would suit Kitami well. The mineral spring water is clear, colorless, tasteless, and odorless, with a pH of 9.5. It’s brought in from nearby Route Inn Kitami Odori Nishi rather than sourced by the hotel, and feels a little less slick and fresh than water at hotels with hot springs. The bathing area has nine washing stations and one shower booth. The sauna is listed on the official website for four people, though it fits around six to eight. The main bath is about 3.6 meters wide and 3.2 meters deep. There’s no cold bath, outdoor bath, or relaxation chair, and the water dispenser only cools the water to lukewarm, which is a shame. The changing room has dial lockers for valuables, plus two paid washing machines and two paid dryers.