Hotel Route Inn Kitakyushu-Wakamatsu Ekihigashi

This seems to be the only 'high-rise' building in the whole town. You don't need a map to find the hotel because you can spotted it from the JR station. It's less than 5 min walk from the station. On the way to the hotel you will find yourself in the 'shopping' street of the town. Mainly restaurants along the way. You can also found many water pumps for pumping underground water. Just don't know whether they are still working or not. The size of single room in this hotel is comparable to that of double rooms in Fukuoka hotels. One side of the hotel is facing the mountain and the other side the harbour. There is a 'public bath' on the ground floor of the hotel although the size is relatively small. Free breakfast is provided in a hotel restaruant. Across the street of the hotel is a shopping arcade that one can easily finish strolling through it in less than half an hour. A large supermarket is also within walking distance. At the back of the hotel is a temple and a ferry pier is also nearby right underneath the bridge across the straight to Kokura.

Clean and efficient. I spent 2 months at the hotel on a business trip. People are very nice and friendly, but little English is spoken here.