Onsen Glamping ShimaBlue

The staff were very friendly, and there were no issues with the foreign staff. I stayed at Little Garden and had no complaints about the room, so I could relax. It was nice being able to set the open-air bath temperature with the water heater to suit myself. The second-floor stairs are steep, so watch your step. There was plenty of food, and I could order more within the time limit. The rice at dinner was a little hard, which may just be down to personal taste. Food and drinks cost about the same as in a restaurant, so it didn't feel especially pricey.

The open-air bath was a real plus. I could set the temperature myself, which isn't something you can usually do at a hot spring inn. It was at 43°C when I arrived, and soaking in that was wonderful after being chilled. I like long baths in lukewarm water, so having control was useful. The panel is a bit hard to spot, though, and at check-in they said the water switches off after eight hours. The panel also asks you to turn it back on before bed if you want a morning bath. From the bath you can see a big bridge over the river. I worried pedestrians might see me, but I checked from the bridge after checkout the next morning and that didn't seem to be the case. I was here on a solo trip to relax, driving my own car. I found the place on an accommodation website and was curious. It seemed expensive and some guest reviews gave me pause, but I decided to try it because it looked peaceful. Being able to smoke on the terrace was part of what convinced me. I arrived around 5 PM after losing time to other plans. The forecast had said sunny, but snow was falling when I got there. Snow is common around Shima Onsen in winter. On the way I saw a roadside sign saying, "Put on snow tires when entering Shima Onsen!!" It meant it, so take care. I had the Brown Premium (BP) room. It was a cold area and the big window, which is also the entrance, faces the terrace, so I was concerned about warmth. But it was quite warm when I came in, even though it was air-conditioned. Maybe the room is intended for families with kids? There were two queen-size and two semi-double-size beds arranged side by side, enough for two children, plus a hammock. We were able to relax. I chose the sukiyaki plan, since I was alone and didn't think I needed a terrace barbecue in winter. The booking site said meals would be served in the room, but dinner was in the cafe building where reception is. I'd planned to eat slowly in my room, and had brought my favorite snacks, so I was disappointed. The food was just okay, and at this price some people may find the experience tiring. Breakfast is served on the cafe terrace. You can choose dinner and breakfast times to some extent, but breakfast starts at 8 am at the earliest. The hours suit a relaxing stay, though with an 8 am breakfast start, I'd have liked checkout to be at 11 am so there was time for a leisurely bath afterward. The food and service felt uneven, and I got the impression there weren't enough staff. I've seen reviews criticizing the hospitality, but this isn't a hotel, so expecting too much seems a bit much. Still, it looked like a staffing shortage. The cafe specializes in hamburgers and stays open past 7 PM. When I went to the cafe building for dinner at 6 PM, two groups of cafe customers were there. I imagine the kitchen was busy with them and didn't have much time for me. I was the only person having sukiyaki, so I knew where to sit and took a seat without being shown one. I think the grilled trout probably arrived later than planned. There were a few meal details that could have gone better. The egg for the sukiyaki came after we'd started eating. I wanted to eat the grilled trout before lighting the sukiyaki pot, but sukiyaki was the main dish, after all. They seemed to have put thought into the ingredients, but nobody explained what was in it, including the meat and the variety of mushrooms. I would have liked the meat on a separate plate so I could add it at my own pace. I also didn't know what was included in the dinner menu. There was dessert but no coffee afterward, and a written menu would have helped. At breakfast there was a spoon and knife but no fork, and there was a butter knife, though they gave me a fork when I asked properly. Still, the onions and mushrooms in the sukiyaki were delicious, as were the salted grilled trout and, above all, the white rice. The room had no reading light. I could read with a reasonable amount of light if I turned my head away from the pillow. Some solo guests probably read, so it may be worth considering. A light at the hot spring would be nice too, for reading while having a drink. The room coffee machine came with coffee, black tea and Japanese tea cartridges. The coffee tasted too weak to me, and since there was also a kettle, regular drip coffee might have been better. The breakfast coffee was delicious. It was windy on the day I stayed, and there were fallen leaves on the terrace. This may tie back to the staffing shortage. With the fence as it is, leaves can't just be swept out through a gap and have to be picked up, which may make cleaning harder. It would be great if they offered room-only or breakfast-only plans for solo guests. It would also help to choose a preferred bath temperature when booking. This place seems mainly set up for barbecue. The sukiyaki plan must put a lot of extra pressure on staff, and it felt like they weren't fully prepared for it. I think management needs to give the staff more breathing room, since that can lead to better service. I've written a lot, but honestly I'd like to come back. It's rare to find somewhere a solo guest can spend such a luxurious stay, so I'm rooting for them.

The food and staff made this second visit a happy one. The portions were just right, and everything tasted so good, which surprised me because I usually don't expect much from glamping meals. The staff were friendly too. Since my last stay they've renovated, and the rooms are even nicer. I like that every room has its own hot spring, even though this is glamping. The sauna was the one letdown. During loyly the room got really hot, but my feet stayed cold. The cold bath was very cold too, and I wished my feet had warmed up. It was winter, though, so I made quite a few adjustments. Summer probably brings a lot of bugs, so I'd recommend coming in winter.

The barbecue was hard for me since I'm not used to cooking over charcoal. The ingredients looked great, but the heat wasn't strong enough to bring out their best, and I couldn't finish the generous portion. Breakfast, on the other hand, was delicious. I could only choose between 8:30 and 9:00, so an earlier meal might have helped me make better use of the day. I stayed at Little Garden. The room was lovely, and having no TV let me enjoy the quiet. The open-air bath was spacious and relaxing, with the sound of the river nearby.