Hotel Wellness Yamatoji

Having your own car or a rental is absolutely essential here. The shop only has small portions of instant noodles as a meal option, and the room fridge is empty, so it’s best to buy what you need before checking in. The nearby 7-Eleven in Asuka Village is about 5-10 minutes away by car. The bathhouse is great for easing tiredness and is open from around 6:30 AM to 11:00 AM. The place feels more like a resort or vacation home than a hotel. You can get the full experience by booking one night with two meals, though it’s a shame the restaurant takes reservations only and has a fixed menu. It would suit more guests if they offered ramen or soba that people could order freely after a bath.

I’d say this is just about acceptable for the price. The rooms and meals aren’t bad, and the side dishes are about what you’d expect for the cost, but I wouldn’t call it a good deal or recommend it. The dinner rice was especially off-putting: even though we were the last customers, it tasted like leftovers from the previous morning. The breakfast rice wasn’t old, so I suspect food is being reused. I’d avoid eating dinner here if possible. The bath had some poor reviews online, but I didn’t see any floating scum or anything like that, so it was fine. I think you’d be happier paying a little more for another hotel.

I was really satisfied when I stayed here about 18 years ago. It’s been closed for a long time, and I wonder whether it’ll ever reopen.

The hotel is a manageable size, so it was easy to get between the rooms, large public bath, and lounge. We used it for business. We’d originally booked three Japanese-style rooms for 11 people, but changed to single rooms because of COVID-19. For a small increase in price, we were able to have four Japanese-style rooms, one per person. Dinner and breakfast were efficient and well organized. The parking right by the entrance only has room for about four cars, so it’s generally better to use the lower lot.