Hotel Sansui Ibaraki

Rooms are on the small side, but they work well for a layover. Breakfast is good for 1000 yen.

Good service 👍🏻

The room and bathroom were roomy, and I was happy with them. The hotel also seems to host the Shogi Meijin tournament. Breakfast comes in either Japanese or Western style, and I had a beer as my welcome drink. The front desk had just one person, so the service felt a little... Still, the service was good, even though there seemed to be staffing difficulties at this long-established hotel and some of the employees were foreign. Koga Station is about a 10-minute walk away. The area has a charming, temple-town feel, with quiet temples and homes; being near the river, it also has eel restaurants and shops selling candied crucian carp.

Breakfast and dinner stayed the same each day, so I wouldn’t choose it for a longer stay. For one night, though, I’d give the place five stars. The building is a bit old, but it’s kept clean and in good repair. The rooms are very spacious and quiet, with the closet and unit bath facing each other, so you don’t hear the neighbors. The amenities are on par with major hotels. If you skip cleaning, you reuse your towels but get a 500 yen QUO card. I don’t know whether there’s a limit, but over four days I only received 1,000 yen, which was disappointing. At breakfast, both the Japanese and Western options came with several kinds of salad, and there was tea, apple juice, coffee, and as much rice as you wanted, along with natto, raw eggs, and curry. Dinner had a special guest set for 2,100 yen, with sashimi, roast beef, assorted tempura, and simmered dishes, and you could choose food up to 2,100 yen. The udon had a light Kansai-style soy sauce, but it was too salty for me. Overall the food was passable, like a Japanese chain restaurant.