Ooedo Onsen Monogatari Awazu Grand Hotel

I really wanted to stay at a three-star buffet Accommodation, so I chose this one. The food was delicious—above all, the sashimi was excellent. I ate way too much sushi as well. I also fully enjoyed the seafood grill, especially the abalone and other items that are hard to come by in everyday life. The Hotel Facility is old, though. But since I came for the meals, it wasn’t an issue. I mistakenly thought it was a premium Accommodation, so it was disappointing that there were no soft drinks. At dinner, I added an all-you-can-drink option for about 2,500 yen, so I was very satisfied. It was supposed to be Airweave bedding, but I didn’t find it particularly comfortable to sleep on.

Even though it was March, it was so cold that we had to run the air conditioner at full blast. And even though the Onsen left my skin feeling nice and soft, there was no humidifier in the Room, so it got extremely dry. Disappointing. The Room was spacious, so it was amazing. Thank you! The view was great, and we could see a huge flock of white herons from the window. Inside the building—hallways, restaurant, everything—was just really cold. It was so cold I felt like I’d die unless I wore long johns under my yukata (lol). I’m fine because I like little kids, but if you want to relax quietly, it might feel a bit noisy even on weekdays. I wanted to take my time in the bath/Onsen. I was tired so I checked out early. The buffet was packed—you have to line up to get anything… and even though the time is short, you just keep lining up and lining up. Unlike what some Reviews said, there is a time limit. If you don’t go early enough, your meal ends within the 1 hour 30 minute service window—so if you’re late, you miss out on that much food. Also, since they require cleanup 10 minutes before the end, you basically have to leave after at most 80 minutes. The staff were kind and cheerful and spoke to us a lot—they were wonderful enough that I understood why the restaurant gets so crowded. Seafood in Ishikawa can be even better elsewhere, but I still enjoyed the fish here too. The steamed items were a bit disappointing for me since I know Ishikawa seafood well—but at this price point that’s understandable (￣O￣;) It was fun being able to eat lots of crab! If I had one complaint: during the buffet there were many people talking while serving themselves—it felt like there could be infection risk from saliva droplets; it seems like clusters could happen… especially with lots of children around… I wish masks were required while serving food. All-you-can-eat Häagen-Dazs made me happy—I want to go again!