Unzen Onsen Gensen Kakenagashi & Oshidori no Ike wo Nozomu Bishoku no Yado Azumaen

This time, our large family of eight stayed to celebrate my husband’s 60th birthday. Our Room was upgraded, the meals were delicious, and the staff were incredibly friendly—we truly enjoyed our one-night stay. Finally, the view from the Room was amazing.

Having just retired, I visited for the first time with my wife.At check-in, we were asked about our preferred dinner drinks and any additional dishes. We were told this was to avoid keeping us waiting at dinner. We were escorted only as far as the first-floor elevator, with no in-room explanation. It felt somewhat businesslike, but it also created a comfortable sense of distance.Our Room had a semi-open-air bath, but since there were few guests right after check-in, we used the public bath instead. Both the changing area and bathing area were spotless and well maintained. There was a notice warning about steps in the tub. I assumed there were two steps and entered carefully, but it turned out there were three—I slipped inside the tub and ended up going under headfirst (laughs).The semi-open-air bath in the Room was pleasantly air-conditioned, making for a very comfortable soak; we enjoyed it about five times before checkout the next day.For dinner, we were seated by the water with a view of the sunset, and enjoyed both the scenery and our meal. Since we chose a basic Plan, we didn’t expect too much; however, true to its reputation as a “gourmet Accommodation,” every dish exceeded expectations—in flavor and presentation alike—and both my wife and I were impressed. The hamo fish dumpling soup was especially outstanding. In addition, as an IKYU Diamond member benefit, we were served simmered golden eye snapper; it was generous in size and very satisfying.Because I mentioned at check-in that this stay was to celebrate my retirement, they presented us early in dinner with an entire sea bream dish (“Celebration Sea Bream Three-Color Grill”), which we truly appreciated—and we even took memorable photos. As an aside, the tsukudani served alongside it was so delicious that I looked for it in the shop after dinner hoping to buy some, but they didn’t carry it—unfortunately.Breakfast offered many small side dishes along with delicious rice—I ended up having three bowls of rice. It was also nice that refills of not only rice but miso soup were available as well. I was surprised to see braised pork (perhaps kakuni?) in the morning, but paired with grilled mackerel it tasted excellent and went down easily.The Room we chose included an 11:00 checkout time, so after breakfast we brought complimentary lobby coffee back to our Room and relaxed at our own pace. The Room had been renovated not long ago and felt clean and refreshed—we were very satisfied. Next time, we’d like to try staying in a different Room.The parking lot is spacious and free of charge; being able to leave our car there while sightseeing nearby after checkout was also greatly appreciated.Overall, this stay exceeded our expectations from start to finish—we would definitely like to return again.