Kitaguni Grand Hotel

For a three-star hotel charging 40,000 yen a night, I expected more. The sea urchin was mixed through the rice, and I'm allergic to it. I asked for plain white rice, but they wanted to charge me, so I declined. To me, that felt like paying extra for a downgrade. They suggested picking the sea urchin off the top, but it was mixed in and impossible to remove completely. I could end up needing a hospital after eating it, so I couldn't understand why staff would suggest that. It also felt cheap that I had to peel the plastic film off the food myself.

The rooftop has a great view, and both meals were nicely presented and delicious. Since not many places nearby stay open late, eating dinner at the restaurant is a good idea. I stayed in a Western-style room with a nice amount of space, a table and chairs, and a good view.

The saving graces were being allowed to check in early, at 2, and getting a free ride back to the pier. The food was alright, but the well-known expensive sea urchin wasn't served. At 47000 yen per room, I expected something closer to the top-notch onsen hotels on the mainland. Instead, there was no air conditioning, and the room was so stuffy that the night was miserable. The weather was bad too, which put us off the 5:30 am tour of Himenuma.

The location was good, but service was so-so. The food, especially breakfast, didn't feel worth the price. There weren't any restaurants nearby, though, so we didn't have much choice.