Okudogo Ichiyu no Mori

The inn is an old but retro-inspired large tourist hotel. The customer service was good, including the induction of arrival and departure. There was a wide variety of buffets for dinner, and the quality was pretty good. It felt like a hotel that focuses on food. The bath is large, but there is an indoor bath on the upper floor centered on the dressing room and an open-air bath on the lower floor, which is moved by stairs. It is very inconvenient and requires attention for small children and the elderly. There was also a sauna with a small number of people, but there were no baths, faucets, or rest chairs nearby, so I felt it was not from the user's perspective. It's after Okumichi, so it's a very quiet place surrounded by greenery. There are large windows, so you can enjoy a very wonderful view in the season of fresh green and autumn colors.

I stayed overnight on a family holiday in October. It is a popular hotel, so when I booked I thought it would be small if there were only twins available, but I upgraded to see if I could get an opening and it was a fulfilling stay. Regarding the hot springs, the quality of the hot springs is different from that of Dogo Onsen, and there are a wide variety of open-air baths, so I was able to enjoy bathing many times. However, there were times when I felt it was troublesome to go between the inside and outside baths because there was a dressing room and a staircase. If you are worried about your feet, I think you should be careful. As for the food, I chose the buffet for both morning and evening, but it was elaborate and very delicious and satisfying, partly because the official recommended it. At night, the chef requests and makes sushi in the live kitchen, but since there is only one chef, it took about 20 minutes for me to get in line depending on the timing, so I felt it was better to improve to eliminate the queue by making some sushi beforehand and narrowing the request range. The hotel staff will treat you with smiles and kindness throughout your stay, and if you want to stay in Matsuyama, this is the hotel you want to use again.

I was able to make a reservation a week in advance for my first solo trip to Matsuyama. The exterior was older than the photos I saw on the reservation site, but the inside was clean. The good thing about this hotel was the indoor large public bath. The water was hot, but the smell of hot spring minerals and sulfur was strong, and it felt like a real hot spring. On the other hand, the outdoor open-air bath felt like normal water. What bothered me the most was that part of the men's open-air bath was completely visible from the check-in lobby. There's no way the hotel didn't notice, but when I checked in, an old man was completely visible. Another thing was that the dinner and breakfast buffets were good. All the beer mugs in the refrigerator in the all-you-can-drink corner were dirty, so I asked the staff to change them. There is no detailed service or politeness, so I think it would be more enjoyable for foreign groups or student tour groups (there were many such groups). However, it's also perfectly enjoyable for solo travelers. Although it was assumed that you would enjoy the large public bath, there were no bags or baskets for towels or small changes of clothes, which was inconvenient. I think this was a hotel and banquet hall that represented the local area during the period of high economic growth and the bubble economy. There were displays of valuable items from different eras everywhere, which was fun. There are a lot of things that could be criticized, but at this price, it might be worth having fun.