Resorpia Kumihama

The hot bath area is decent, though it could use some landscaping. The restaurant’s beer selection was poor, with only one brand at 1210 yen a bottle. The rooms have a dated 1980s look, so this felt like a three-star hotel.

The onsen was a real highlight, so peaceful and almost always empty while I was there. The windows looked out over green hills and a misty lake, and the rooms were beautiful, with a comfortable bed area and a separate traditional Japanese sitting space. We walked here after hiking in the surrounding mountains. It’s a bit far from everything else, but absolutely worth the trip. I only wish I’d booked more than one night.

The crab dinner was the best part of our one-night stay from February 22. We had sashimi, grilled and boiled crab, hot pot, then delicious rice porridge. The crab was packed with sweet meat and rich flavor, and breakfast was also really tasty. But the meal was served in a windowless second dining room, which I really disliked. An order of oolong tea cost 1000 yen, which felt awfully steep. The bath was relaxing, but tiny, with maybe six washing stations. People had to wait both at night and in the morning, and the morning bath was full, so it wasn’t somewhere we could take our time. The hotel felt quite old, though the atmosphere was calm and made it easy to forget everyday life. Our Japanese-Western room had a kotatsu, and we enjoyed its retro feel. The road up to the hotel was a problem. Without studless tires, the slope seemed impossible. The children tried a riddle game around the building through LINE, but never got the answer, and staff wouldn’t tell them, so we were left wondering. The location, age of the hotel, and service were ordinary.

The building is old, but our room was clean and roomy. The meal was delicious, especially the seafood grilled over charcoal at the table. It was fun to grill the fish ourselves, though the rice wasn’t fluffy because of how it had been cooked. Breakfast was tasty too, but I was surprised that the two of us were told to share one square box of side dishes. There were cherry blossoms in full bloom during my first stay on April 3. I could see them from the second-floor lounge window while relaxing on the sofa. The road was wide and there was barely any traffic, which made me a little uneasy at first, but the quiet setting was nice. The parking lot is large, though carrying luggage means climbing stairs to reach the elevator. I borrowed a cart, but the staff member behind the counter stayed focused on their computer and said nothing. I found that poor service and wish they’d put more effort into guests. The bath has a reputation for being small, but there were so few people that it felt almost private. A sauna and outdoor bath would make it better. It wasn’t pool season, but we could relax on the terrace after meals, despite the wind making it difficult. I was satisfied overall and would stay again.