Hotel Umizola

A tidy, cosy place with a Japanese-style feel. The owner was really kind, too.

The seaside walks were a highlight for our family, and Naminoue Shrine is close enough to reach on foot. We visited during New Year's and walked there to pay our respects. It was busy, lively, and fun. There's a Subway that opens around 7 AM, handy for grabbing coffee before a beach walk. A golf course sits by the sea, and the area stays fairly bright at night, so you won't see many stars. We were in room 101 on the first floor for two days and had no problems. The shared washer and dryer are only about five steps away. You may have to wait if someone else is using them, but the wait wasn't long for us. Having the parking space right outside the room made it feel homey, and booking ahead meant we could park directly in front. The lot is small and narrow even for a compact car, so larger cars or wagons should be careful. As a place to stay, it was fantastic.

We ended up canceling because we didn't feel safe staying there. The room was unlocked, which made us anxious that someone could come in, and there was a lot of what looked like hair on the futon. When we asked about it, the cleaning staff said they left the door open because the room could freeze if the air conditioner was on with the door shut, and that someone might have entered without permission. We had booked through Agoda after seeing “kitchen” on the hotel's website, so we assumed our room would have one and bought groceries. It turned out our room didn't, and that misunderstanding was ours, though the description was misleading. Replies to our emails never came, and service was slow, making it hard to arrange another hotel.