Published date: March 5, 2025
The Best Hotel I’ve Stayed At So Far
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Room Type Stayed
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Experience of the stay
It was a hotel with excellent hospitality. This was the hotel on the second day of my solo trip in Uno for two nights and three days.
Despite being a separate room, commonly referred to as a dormitory-type room, this hotel was the one my friend who works in the travel industry said, "The best hotel I’ve ever stayed at is in Okayama! The staff, room, bath, amenities, breakfast, everything is amazing."
The room has accordion curtains, but when closed, it feels like a private room. It was very clean. Amenities were also plentiful, including pajamas, eye masks, towel sets, and earplugs. The room I booked through HafH was in a mixed-gender area, but the staff kindly changed it to a female-only area for me. I was grateful... The area’s door is auto-locking and can be opened with a card key. There were beautiful shared toilets across the hall, and a separate area for showers, sinks, and laundry, where you slip into slippers upon entering. Everything was new and clean.
There were three shower rooms, but I didn’t use them since there was Tamano Onsen available.
Speaking of Tamano Onsen, guests can enter for free as many times as they want. It's about a 3-minute walk from the hotel, and in this season it’s cold, but they have thick down coats available at the entrance in various sizes. They’ve really thought of everything.
It has natural hot spring saunas, outdoor baths, a dining area, relaxation facilities, and a souvenir shop all in one place, so you can go hands-free from the hotel. Tour buses also come, so it was quite busy even on weekdays, but it was such a nice hot spring that everyone must have wanted to come.
I went in twice, and I usually have trouble sleeping, but that night I slept soundly without dreaming.
The next morning, after a wonderful breakfast where I thought, "My body is so happy!" ($20 breakfast, highly recommended), I rented an electric bicycle outside the hotel (500 yen for 2 hours, 1,000 yen for a day) and rode around the port area before checking out. It was a hotel where I wanted to stay another day.
Although it was impossible this time, I set a new goal to stay in one of their superior double rooms someday... I’ll work hard for that.
Experiences during the trip
On the second day of my solo trip in Uno, I left KEIRIN HOTEL 10 and rented a bicycle at Uno Station. I got a non-artistic (lol) bicycle with a basket for 800 yen until 5 PM.
Thanks to the kind lady at the Tamano Tourist Information Center, I was able to enjoy a delicious seafood rice bowl set for lunch. The restaurant is called Umino Eki Seaside Mart, also known as Tamano Fish Market. Although it's a fish market, the second floor has a restaurant where you can enjoy seafood dishes (grilled items are available only on weekends and holidays). The lunch set with the marinated rice bowl and fish soup in the picture cost 1,850 yen, and I was very satisfied.
The fish was, of course, delicious, but the special soy sauce called Takatori Soy Sauce here was incredibly tasty, and I thought, "I absolutely have to buy this to take home!" I looked around various supermarkets but couldn’t find it at all. The next morning, I returned to the fish market on the hotel rental bike and successfully got it.
Oh, there’s a nearby tourist spot called Miyama Park, but it’s impossible for amateurs to cycle there from Uno Station. Usually, I don’t think people would go there.
Despite hearing from the lady at the information center, "No, it's a hill, you know?" I tried to go anyway and ended up falling into a state of breathlessness and gave up. It’s not just a hill; it’s a mountain road. You really need thighs like a professional cyclist to handle that gradient.
In any case, the weather that day was nice, and the breeze from the sea felt great. Uno has become one of the towns I want to visit again.