Maholova Minds Miura TOKYO BAY — Hotel in Miura

Love this place. What sets this hotel apart from most Japanese accommodations is that it offers all of the features and amenities you'd expect in onsen (hot spring) hotels--yet your room will be a giant suite with separate bedrooms. ||||I enjoy onsen tremendously, but I often hesitate to travel with friends or family because you often end up in a tatami room where you end up sleeping on top of each other--or, even if the room is big enough for the group, there is no privacy whatsoever. ||||Sure, I guess we could get multiple rooms, but that doesn't feel right in the onsen settings, either...because onsen really is also about spending quality time with your friends and family. This hotel offers a PERFECT solution! We (a married couple) stayed with my in-laws in a 2 bedroom suite with a living room and kitchen (no cooking appliances, though, besides the fridge and an electric kettle), and that gave us a sense of being at home--and we were able to enjoy sufficient distance as needed. For instance, when everyone was watching TV, chatting and drinking, I was in the bedroom, getting work done! I have never seen such a hotel in Japan prior to this, and this is such a wonderful feature.||||Now, with this said, the food is probably average for an onsen hotel, and I'd actually urge you to stay with the basic buffet. We paid extra for their kaiseki dinner one night, but I don't think the surcharge was justified. Also, it is a bit hard to get to from Tokyo, Haneda Airport, or Narita Airport. If you aren't driving, the Keikyu train is really your only option--and this is a commuter train, meaning that it can get quite crowded between 7 am and 10 am as well as 5 pm and 8 pm. So, if you have large luggage, you are likely to have a miserable time--although, as with everything else, Japanese people are generally quite helpful and kind...and they WILL try to help.||||Also, it is perhaps important to note that virtually nobody on their staff speaks English well enough to offer useful help. They are ALL friendly and polite, and they WILL try to help you. I was with a Japanese speaker, so this wasn't an issue--but we had to help foreign guests communicate a...

Location - You can take a complimentary shuttle bus from Miura kaigan station or 10-15 minute easy walk the hotel. It was easy to find. It's a small town but you can find everything within walking distance. Craving for Mickey D's? You can't miss it on the way to the beach (several min walk).||||Room - our room was huge with kitchen, dining room, and bedroom like one bedroom condo's layout. It is located in the different building from the main registration building. This clean, spacious apartment like room made us feel home ;-)||||Restaurant - Some restaurants at the main building. You can find mom-and-pop restaurants within walking distance. Don't read Japanese? No problem. Just point out the picture on the menu or they have their food menu figure displayed outside restaurants. ||||Onsen + Sauna + Swimming Pool - The package we bought came with the access to them. Enjoyed mostly at their natural hot springs facility! Wear your bathing suits to enjoy waterfall shower, Jacuzzi and sauna. Many people use the facility to exercise and relax!||||Staff - Very friendly. All the staff here seemed to be happy, only a few speak English. Had a problem with their coin laundry. I was helped immediately by a man who didn't speak much of English. He gave my money back and suggested to use different...

This is a bit of a time capsule - interesting if you have a thing for bubble-era "resort" hotels based on attractions entirely inside a nondescript concrete building. That's not a bad thing - the water park is a fine example of a somewhat elaborate sento. If you're with kids, they'll also enjoy the inflatable "athletic" course in the 25m pool.

Definitely skip the restaurant Hanazakura, though. It has all the charm of a high school cafeteria, is staffed by nice, but clearly inexperienced and untrained people, and offers somewhat overpriced, bad food. For example, the "Miura Kaisen-don" features seafod that could not possibly come from anywhere near Miura (tuna, salmon, scallops) of fairly low quality and questionable freshness (chu-toro with hard, chewy fat veins; squid and shrimp gone gluey, as they do when they're a little old; salmon roe that has lost its pop) - the whole thing was almost certainly assembled and plastic wrapped a day or two before it was served. The tea being poured was hot or ice cold depending on whether or not the plastic teapot from which it was poured was microwaved. The kids' meal was pretty obviously entirely microwaved...