Yu-Furi Nasu-Shiobara

The Japanese-style rooms were nice, the frozen bento was delicious, and the onsen was relaxing. There’s lots of play space for kids and even a movie zone. I just wish they offered fresh food.

You won’t run out of things to do in the lobby. There’s table tennis, billiards, an arcade with different games, a lounge, fairly priced massage chairs, and board and card games to borrow. Coffee and hot or cold tea are free. The onsen tamago cost 100 yen each, and we had them with breakfast, with condiments available for the eggs. I seriously thought about adding another night, though we went home as planned. I’d consider coming back. The Japanese-style room was spacious and comfortable. We relaxed on the tatami at night and slept well on the clean, fluffy futon. The women’s bath had Refa shower heads and hair dryers, a little luxury, and all toiletries were provided. The large rotenburo has several sections with hotter or cooler water, and the indoor bath was comfortable too. It had all the things I’d expect from an onsen, and was wonderful value for money. It’s near the bus terminal for anyone arriving by public transport, and close to the main street with restaurants, since the hotel doesn’t serve food. One drawback: you can hear a fairly busy trucking road from the rooms and the bath.

The tatami rooms and bathrooms are old, but they’re kept clean. The old-style taps took a little getting used to, though they worked fine once we figured them out. The toilet and bathroom exhaust didn’t seem to work, and the AC was very dirty and dusty, though I guess it did the job. There’s a nice on-site onsen, a full arcade, a small store and a free coffee machine. The main problem for us was food. There’s no breakfast service, only fish or chicken bento boxes, which was inconvenient for us as vegetarians. There are vending machines for regular drinks, ice cream and cup noodles, but those ran out quickly, and there weren’t vegetarian options. The nearest combini was 1.2 km away, which made things challenging. Parking is limited, and during all six days of our stay, a non-EV car kept taking the one EV charging spot we wanted.

The hot spring was nice, the facilities were clean, and the staff were friendly. It’s a good deal for the price, even if it isn’t a five-star hotel.