Hotel Ichiboukan

The weather spoiled the sunset this time. I’d seen a beautiful one here before, which is why I came back while on a business trip, but the sky stayed cloudy and my walk around the inn was over quickly. Since there’s nothing to be done about the weather, I got on with dinner and splurged on the 2.5-crab course. The portions were generous, especially the thick crab sashimi and tempura. The tempura included crab, blackthroat seaperch, lotus root, and shishito peppers, and the vegetables were delicious with the kelp salt they recommended. The waitress explained the dishes carefully. Breakfast was delicious too. You can choose crab miso soup, and they asked if I wanted more. It had such a rich crab flavor that I could drink it every day. They leave a pot of rice at the table, so you can have as much as you like, and the rolled omelet is fried after you sit down, so it arrives warm. The bath was spacious on the day I arrived. The next day, after the men’s and women’s baths switched, the one available to guests in the north and south buildings felt quite small. In recent years, it’s the smallest large public bath I’ve seen at a ryokan. The shop is small too, so buying things at the station on your way back might be a good idea. The staff were mostly young, but attentive and well-trained. This is an inn that pays attention to the details.

The food was good and the staff were really friendly. It was a big ryokan serving lots of crab, though the meal didn’t leave me feeling like I couldn’t eat another bite. With the travel costs included, I figured I could have a super-luxurious meal closer by, so that was enough for me.

We booked room 315 and the all-you-can-eat crab course as a birthday treat for my husband. It was our first visit from Kanto in three years. I’d stayed at Ichibokan a few times before and had a lot of good memories there. My husband loves crab, and I wanted to end our trip somewhere special for him. The menu seemed different from our earlier visits, perhaps because we chose another course, but there was plenty of delicious crab. The meal did take a long time, which may have got on Nakai’s nerves. He started out kind, then seemed grumpy, though perhaps it really was someone else. He turned on the hotpot and left without explaining how to eat it, so we didn’t know when to start or whether ponzu and other sauces were coming. While I was still finishing dessert, they began clearing up without a word, then moved the dessert to a window table. They quickly removed our things from the table and laid out the futon. My husband had taken off a jacket he wore over his yukata and left it there. It must have been in the way, because they just tossed it aside, lol. Other things bothered me too. The bathtub took ages to fill and kept draining by itself, there was a moldy smell, and stains on the room’s sliding doors caught my eye. The shower cap in the amenities was sticky and had something stuck to it, as if it had been reused without being checked. The room and bath hadn’t changed much, for better or worse. Before, the good food and service mattered so much that I hadn’t noticed these things. This time, without that service, my satisfaction dropped right away. I know this may sound selfish, but I felt like my memories and the care I’d put into planning for my husband had been trampled. I was sad and frustrated, and felt awful for him on such a special birthday trip. I’ll take one last look at the Sea of Japan in front of me and remember it that way. Thank you.

The beach was right outside my North Wing room, and the view was a 10 for me. It’s a long, wide stretch of sand and one of Japan’s top 100 sunset spots. The weather wasn’t good enough to see the sunset, but the room’s indoor hot spring stone bath was big enough for two, and it was lovely to relax there looking at the ocean. If you’re staying overnight, I’d recommend this room even though it costs a little more. I came on a weekday in December 2025, booking through a discounted Rakuten Travel plan. The crab plan was ¥32,000 per person. I like seaside hot spring inns and chose this one because I was concerned about inbound tourist crowds in nearby Kinosaki. The prices here seem comparable to Kinosaki. The indoor men’s bath had eight washing areas and was reasonably spacious. The ocean-facing open-air bath was small, with a wall to block outside views and a pillar in the middle. It fits only about 4-5 people. There’s no sauna, which doesn’t bother me since I don’t use one. The women’s bath, which was the women’s in the evening and men’s in the morning, faced the garden and had no view. Its indoor bath was small too, with just four washing areas. It was quiet on a weekday, but I wonder if it gets crowded on busy days before holidays. The water is a simple alkaline spring, listed at 34 degrees. It didn’t feel slippery, and the chlorine smell was strong, so it didn’t feel much like a hot spring to me. I prefer sodium-based and sulfur springs like those at Shirahama and Katsuura, so I was disappointed. The all-you-can-eat crab wasn’t super delicious, since I can’t afford the plans tagged with super-luxury brands, but it was still pretty tasty. Apparently the sashimi, tempura, boiled crab, hotpot, and rice porridge together use the equivalent of three crabs. Even I eat a lot and was full, and I was glad I’d kept lunch to modest Izushi soba. I heard even young people can’t finish it. A friendly older man greeted us at the entrance, and the receptionist explained everything calmly. The entrance and its charming atmosphere felt like a Showa-era inn. The young man handling in-room dining was kind too. I’ve had itchy, swollen hands after eating boiled crab before, probably because of the salt, so I asked for cooking gloves. They brought them right away, which helped me avoid that irritation. I really appreciated the quick help. My scores: 10 for the view, 9 for the room and hospitality, 8 for the food, 6 for the in-room bath, and 3 for the public bath. The area is a relaxing hot spring town without much of a tourist feel, great for a quiet stay. The spring water quality wasn’t to my taste. In crab-free season, a standard kaiseki meal at around 20,000 yen per person seems like a reasonable price.