Hotel AreaOne Banjinmisaki

I ended up coming back again in less than a month. When I finally had some free time and wondered where to go, my feet naturally led me to Hotel AreaOne Banjinmisaki. This time the Hotel was almost fully booked. There seemed to be a sports tournament nearby, and many families were staying the night before—an eye-opening way to use the Hotel.Our family came to enjoy the sea at Banjinmisaki and to see the winged swim ring we’d spotted on Instagram. With a free rental float in hand, we played in the water at the nearly empty beach right in front of us. The kids were thrilled, and our whole family had a wonderful time. Even though it wasn’t officially beach season yet, the water was already warm enough for us to fully enjoy playing with our children along the shoreline.There’s a shower room on the first floor of the Hotel, so it’s easy to rinse off sand. If you bring your yukata with you, you can rinse off and head straight to the bath—such great convenience.I say this every time, but I truly believe the view from the Room window is the best in the world. Relaxing in your Room while watching the sunset, then setting off fireworks under a sky full of stars—I don’t think there are many Hotels like this anywhere in Japan, or even worldwide. And I feel that our Kashiwazaki trip is made possible by all of this thanks to everyone on staff who supports these wonderful moments.This time we were lucky enough to get tai meshi for breakfast, and we enjoyed an amazing meal together with an incredible view—such a satisfying morning.While browsing the Hotel’s souvenir corner, we bought some lovely sweets and a spoon like those shown in photos. Many Hotels sell souvenirs made in Osaka or Saitama—or even overseas—but this Hotel offers local specialties properly made in Niigata, which left a great impression on me. The sweets were made in Kashiwazaki and were delicious. As for the spoon—it was crafted by an artisan from Tsubame-Sanjo—and it’s so outstanding that after using it at home I honestly felt it might be “the best spoon in the world,” just like this Hotel.A Hotel that can curate souvenirs like these really might be number one! I always care more about where something is manufactured than who sells it, so I think this Hotel has impeccable taste with its strong selection of local specialties. On this trip—despite having visited dozens of times—I realized for the first time that even just browsing this souvenir corner makes staying here worthwhile.In any case, this is truly an excellent Hotel with wonderful staff who have great taste as well.We’ll definitely be back!

The Room on the 11th floor where I stayed for the first time was amazing! It’s always good, but this time it was truly outstanding. The castle-tower suite was simply in a class of its own. The moment you step into the Room, you’re greeted by an incredible view—through the large windows, all you can see is the deep blue sea and clear blue sky. I was genuinely stunned.I couldn’t believe I could stay in this Room for under 10,000 yen per person—it felt like an incredible bargain. You can relax and read here, or simply gaze at the blue sea and sky; just being in the Room is enough to have a wonderful time. As I’ve said before, it feels hundreds of times better than even the Shonan coast.Even staying five nights comes to around 130,000 yen for two people, and I truly think it’s worth it. While you can feel some age in parts of the Hotel, that only adds to its charm—you can still sense Japan’s Showa-era bubble luxury—and I’m sincerely grateful to everyone involved with maintaining it.The front desk staff are excellent as well. At breakfast buffet service, one male employee was handling reception, seating guests, monitoring food levels, clearing tables—everything—on his own. When I accidentally dropped my plastic yogurt spoon, he immediately rushed over and picked it up for me. That really moved me; if he hadn’t done so, given how affordably I was able to stay with breakfast included, I would have felt too guilty not to use it anyway under the “three-second rule.” That’s how great this Hotel’s value is.Great views, luxurious Showa-bubble atmosphere—and yet exceptional value for money. There’s honestly nothing to criticize about this Hotel. I don’t think you could find scenery like this and such a peaceful setting anywhere else in Japan—or even worldwide.That said, if everything sounds too positive in a Review people might assume I'm affiliated with the property—so here is one point that concerned me: on the 11th floor electrical panel area (the flat handle), protective tape had been applied but wasn’t actually holding properly; if a child caught on it somehow it could be dangerous.Even so overall, this is one of the world’s finest Hotels. This Review reflects my honest opinion as someone who has lived near central Tokyo for almost 50 years and has stayed at this Hotel more than three times every year while gaining many different experiences along the way.I hope I can visit two more times later this year as well. Thank you very much.