Yubatake Souan

The location is hard to beat, right in front of Yubatake Onsen with that magical steamy view. The staff were also great, respectful and helpful, and they spoke English. Our room had no view because a building blocked it, and the dim lighting made it feel depressing. We only used it to sleep, which wasn’t easy: the interior was outdated, the bed was terrible, and noise from the hall made it hard to rest. Breakfast was extremely awful. I would have preferred 7-eleven across the street. Apparently, only two rooms had a view of Yubatake onsen, and they were full.

The bath water was good quality, though the bath itself felt quite small. I also wish they’d left more towels. I was traveling alone, but there was just one bath towel and one face towel. The room was clean and spacious, with a very comfortable bed. The hotel sits right in the town center opposite the yubatake, which made it easy to stroll around in a yukata in the evening. Breakfast was pretty good and had a decent range.

The hotel is right in the middle of town, and the front lobby is next to the foot bath. My room didn’t have a shower or bath, so we used the public bath. You can use the private baths without booking between 1am and 5am. They also give you a free ticket to an onsen at their sister hotel.

There are lockers, which help if you’ve got luggage, though the cafe itself is a bit small for a lot of bags. It’s a lovely little place tucked between two buildings, with some unusual snacks and a nice hot spring foot bath.