Crystal Ryokan Shirahama Akariya

I stayed for one night with two meals included as a solo guest. These days there are many foreign staff members, but they were more attentive than some Japanese staff and spoke very politely, which was great—thank you for choosing Japan. The Room was clean, had a Mirable shower, and dedicated Wi‑Fi; nothing to complain about. For dinner I chose the hitsumabushi set meal from several options, and it was the most satisfying hitsumabushi I’ve ever had. The bath isn’t large, but it had a pleasant Onsen scent and was very nice (though I wish there were a bit more consideration for guests with mobility issues). Overall, it was a wonderful Accommodation with outstanding value for money. I’ll definitely return— even without the pandas, it makes sense that Shirahama doesn’t lose tourists because the people in town are so service‑minded. Looks like my list of regular places is only going to keep growing.

I ended up going to Nanki-Shirahama on short notice and looked for an Accommodation.Since it was beach season, I couldn’t easily find an Accommodation that matched what I wanted, so this is the one I booked as a compromise.What I compromised on was being close to the station, and having a bath in the Room.Because it wasn’t near the station, I wasn’t sure about nearby dining options, so I chose a Plan with breakfast and dinner—and it turned out to be a great decision.I stayed two nights. For dinner on the first night, I chose chicken hot pot and pork shabu-shabu; on the second night, I chose the sea bream set.Both were far more food than I could finish. On the first night’s meal you can choose either rice porridge or udon at the end, but there was so much food that I almost skipped it altogether.In the end, they served me half a portion of rice porridge, but even then I couldn’t finish it.The sea bream set comes with kamameshi (rice cooked in a pot). If you eat it normally at first and then spoon in some of the broth from the sea bream shabu-shabu at the end, it becomes like dashi chazuke; adding a little of the wasabi that came with the sashimi makes it even better.This wasn’t something suggested by staff, but highly recommended.Breakfast is Japanese-style with around 10 small side dishes. There were also self-serve toppings like furikake and other items to put over rice, but for me those weren’t necessary. The small dishes were tasty too, but there was so much that I left more than half.At dinner there are alcoholic drinks and other beverages available for an additional charge; if you like sweeter drinks, I recommend trying their plum wine tasting set.The Room was spacious and clean—very comfortable.I also used the large public Onsen bath; perhaps because I went at a quiet time, it was very peaceful and the water felt soft.For directions: if you use public transportation, it’s not far from Mabuyu bus stop. However, on arrival it’s a steady uphill walk (not steep), there’s no sidewalk in places, and pulling a suitcase up can be quite difficult.On departure we took a taxi to the airport; it cost less than 1,500 yen for that distance.If you’re using public transportation overall: taxis may be best for getting to/from the airport round trip, while buses work well for sightseeing.Buses run more frequently than once per hour overall—and depending on time of day and destination there may be several per hour—but service can be very limited at certain times. Checking timetables in advance is recommended.