Higashiyama Grand Hotel — Hotel in Aizuwakamatsu

In mid April ( Cherry Blossom time ) we took the Shinkansen to Koriyama then a local JR train to Aizuwakamatsu where we were met by the hotel's courtesy bus and taken to the hotel.As we booked on-line before leaving Australia we decided to reserve one of three suites with it's own private outdoor bath. Our rooms consisted of two traditional Japanese room with tatami plus separate toilet and washing facilitiy attached to the private outdoor bath. Included is a large ( in Japanese terms ) indoor bath for those who are not inclined to bathe outdoors. The onsen bath had a continuous hot spring water flow and both hot and cold taps to regulate the water temperature. The bath overlooked a traditional Japanese karesansui garden and backed by a beautiful view of the surrounding mountains.||The Hotel boasts a dinner and breakfast menu in excess of 150 separate dishes, of which we tried 20 at both dinner and breakfast. ( both included in the cost ).The food was most delicious, healthy, and fresh.||As an unexpected bonus the hotel arranged to take guest to view the illuminated cherry trees at Tsuruga castle after dinner.||This castle is a must see !! It has been rebuilt with the tourist in mind and is full of information about the history of the area and the castle and is accessable for...

In mid April ( Cherry Blossom time ) we took the Shinkansen to Koriyama then a local JR train to Aizuwakamatsu where we were met by the hotel's courtesy bus and taken to the hotel.As we booked on-line before leaving Australia we decided to reserve one of three suites with it's own private outdoor bath. Our rooms consisted of two traditional Japanese room with tatami plus separate toilet and washing facilitiy attached to the private outdoor bath. Included is a large ( in Japanese terms ) indoor bath for those who are not inclined to bathe outdoors. The onsen bath had a continuous hot spring water flow and both hot and cold taps to regulate the water temperature. The bath overlooked a traditional Japanese karesansui garden and backed by a beautiful view of the surrounding mountains.||The Hotel boasts a dinner and breakfast menu in excess of 150 separate dishes, of which we tried 20 at both dinner and breakfast. ( both included in the cost ).The food was most delicious, healthy, and fresh.||As an unexpected bonus the hotel arranged to take guest to view the illuminated cherry trees at Tsuruga castle after dinner.||This castle is a must see !! It has been rebuilt with the tourist in mind and is full of information about the history of the area and the castle and is accessable for...

As a group of 5 we stayed in a Japanese style tatami room for one night on a recent visit to the region. Whilst the room was lovely and overlooked greenery and the bathroom was fairly spacious for a Japanese room, the hotel was failry tired and looked it from the externals. Also the location being about 2 kilometers and a half away from the old tired hot spring area was a little inconvenient. This hotel was fashionable in post war era, and now tends to cater for the elderly generation for reunions etc., which is in itself a wonderful experience. The onsen hotspring in the hotel is an experience in this environment. However, I thought the hotel was pricey for what it offered as many Japanese accomodations in the region tend to only have meal package and hotel deals which turns out to be costly when travelling in a group. There were other hotels within the small town which would offer a more traditional traditonal feel and conveniences. One negative aspect of the rooms was the heating/airconditioning that could not be turned off, and therefore became uncomfortably warm and dehydrating during sleeping even when the...