Hotel Ichibata

After a long drive, I was truly refreshed by the clean Facility and the large Onsen bath overlooking Lake Shinji below.For both dinner and breakfast, we enjoyed the buffet, which featured plenty of fresh local ingredients. Everything was delicious, and I ended up eating more than I intended. At dinner, we also added the free-flow alcohol option and thoroughly enjoyed our drinks. This time I stayed with friends, but next time I would like to visit as a couple.

After crossing the crosswalk from Shinji-ko Onsen Station, you’ll find the rear entrance right away (about 1 minute).The Accommodation was clean overall. The view from our twin Room on the Lake Shinji side (was it the 6th floor?) was outstanding. The night view was also beautiful and never got old. Early in the morning, we could see about 30 boats that seemed to be out for shijimi clam fishing.Amenities included bottled shampoo and conditioner, and I appreciated having makeup remover as well. If I had to ask for one thing, a body wash towel would have been nice. I also used the large public bath. There was even a dry sauna with a full front view of Lake Shinji, which made me very happy—I worked up a great sweat.Dinner was the teppanyaki Plan, so I had a wonderful time chatting with the chef. If I could make one request, I’d prefer plain white rice and pickles to finish. There were grilled seafood and vegetables, but everything else was beef; having beef even in the final noodle dish made the smell too strong for me to finish it.Also, there was a lot of white powder residue on the wine glass that was served first, which felt unpleasant. I mentioned it and they brought another one, but it still wasn’t fully wiped clean. This was especially disappointing because both the teppanyaki and wine were delicious.Breakfast ingredients were not good either. The grilled nodoguro (blackthroat seaperch) was too small and mostly bones. What seemed to be mackerel was soggy—far from properly grilled fish. There was something like mentaiko paste, but rather than a mayonnaise-like runny paste, I would have preferred actual mentaiko served as is.There were very few types of salad vegetables and not much fresh fruit either. The coffee wasn’t drinkable; I ended up having coffee in my Room instead.If I have another chance to stay again someday, I will skip breakfast.That said, it’s great that even solo travelers can choose the teppanyaki Plan; the Room is clean with an excellent view; and all staff members are kind.When making my Reservation, because there were few Reviews this Hotel did not appear when filtering for 4 stars or higher—but by searching without specifying star ratings, I found it and had a very good stay overall.Thank you very much. (My “3” rating for meals is due to breakfast; overall I was almost satisfied with teppanyaki.)