Hotel Chinohate

The service was good and the hotel was decent, but it felt incredibly expensive for what I got. Maybe the location explains the price, but I paid 1.5 times what I’d paid at another Utoro hotel and got better food and dinner there. There are two communal baths: an indoor same-gender bath for men and women, and an outdoor communal bath. The mineral water comes from an old geyser crater eruption in the 1900s, though it isn’t really an “onsen,” so to speak. The outdoor bath is small but nice, and there’s a large parking area. It’s also well placed for hiking Mount Rausu. Breakfast might be a buffet or a set meal. The buffet has plenty of choices, but the flavours are pretty standard.

The staff were unfriendly, and the whole experience was unpleasant. We arrived at 6:50 and asked about dinner. The receptionist said it wasn’t available, even though people were eating in the restaurant. They told us to buy groceries at the local store and eat in our room. It felt like a bad joke.

The outdoor bath is really nice, though it isn’t very big. The indoor area is pretty underwhelming, just two large baths without anything special. At 1000 yen, entry feels too expensive, especially with the stones being so slippery and the risk of falling so high. For that price, I’d expect them to clean the mossy parts and make it safer.

The traditional meals were decent. There’s no Wi-Fi anywhere, and the outdoor On-sen is a bit of a walk through the woods. Bring a swimsuit, since men and women use it together.