Kurhouse Shirahama

An older hotel that’s been renovated recently. The hot spring pool is great, and there are lots of different hot springs and saunas.

Spectacular.

On this second visit, four years after our family trip, we were again very happy with the room and the food. It was clean, both dinner and breakfast were delicious, and the smiling nakai made our stay pleasant. We’d like to come back, especially if a few things improve. The pool floor felt slimy and slippery, and the atmosphere seemed geared toward regulars walking in the pool, which made swimming difficult. The geta for the room’s open-air bath were wet, too. Our assigned nakai was from overseas, and there were a few moments when ordering didn’t go smoothly.

The kaiseki dinner was delicious, especially the rice cooked with pickled plums and whitebait, and we could take our time enjoying it in our room. The meals used seasonal Kishu ingredients. Mr. Nakai, who brought the food, was personable and gave us wonderful service. He was a foreign guest, Mr. Nakai, and so cute that I wasn’t bothered at all. He actually left a good impression. My wife and I stayed over the end of the year in a special room with a semi-open-air bath and meals included. There was a spacious Japanese-style room as well as a Western room with a bed, and we could see the ocean from the window. Everything was clean and well kept. The bath wasn’t a hot spring, but it was roomy and came with three kinds of bath salts. Its automatic heat-keeping function turns off after a while, so you have to watch it, and the shower pressure was a bit weak. The inn also had a welcome drink and plenty of amenities, and the service was good. It’s close to Shirahama’s main sights, just a few minutes from everything.