Seaside Hotel Mimatsu Oetei

I booked this hotel specifically for the private onsen in the room. When I first turned on the water, there was a strange smell, and I noticed some floating particles, which was quite off-putting. However, I later realized it was the natural sulfur smell of the hot spring, and the particles were inherent to the onsen water itself (as explained in the brochure), which put my mind at ease. The hotel environment is fantastic. The breakfast and dinner menus were different each of the two nights, which was wonderful. The food alone made it worth the price; it's the best value-for-money onsen hotel I've ever stayed at. It was my favorite part of the entire Kyushu trip! I definitely want to come back again in the winter.

The breakfast and dinner portions were generous, and the menu changed daily. The hotel's bathrooms are a bit dated. I booked a semi-open-air bath room, room 606. My only complaint is that the room entrance faces the elevator directly, which can be a bit noisy.

Booked a sea-view room with half board, and it was a great experience. It's a few hundred meters from the train station, and it's quiet despite being set back from the main road. **Environment:** It's a traditional Japanese hotel with an elevator up to the seventh floor. Being right by the sea is very convenient. I haven't slept on a futon in a long time and was worried I wouldn't get used to it, but it was actually quite comfortable. The mattress was thick and not cold. There was a faint tatami mat smell, which I personally found acceptable. I was assigned a corner room, so I could also see the sea from another wall, which was lovely. **Service:** The service was decent. The restaurant staff were particularly warm and welcoming. Just a heads-up, check-in is from 3-6 PM, and the latest entry for dinner is 7 PM, so plan accordingly. **Facilities:** The outdoor onsen on the top floor offers beautiful sea views. The indoor onsen on the third floor is quite spacious and wasn't crowded at all. **Food:** Dinner was excellent, with a good variety including sashimi, wagyu beef, and tempura. Breakfast leaned a bit more vegetarian but was also very tasty.

The open-air hot spring on the top floor was quite impressive, but the indoor one was just so-so; it felt crowded with only four or five people. Dinner was plentiful, but the set-menu breakfast looked better than it tasted. The room was oceanfront with a direct sea view.