Hotel Izukyu — Hotel in Shimoda

The Izukyu hotel is an aging hotel located on in front of a beautiful beach in Shimoda. Much like a lot of tourist sites in Japan that are not located in major cities, this hotel and town were designed for the Japanese domestic tourism market, and thus foreigner travelers should be warned that this hotel is full of quirks from Japan’s 1980’s bubble heyday.. While the rooms were clean, the common areas of the hotel are sad and dark, and do not look like they have been updated since the hotel was built (and in some cases falling apart). The hotel has Western style and Japanese style rooms, and we opted for the Japanese style rooms since I knew the Western style beds would be just as hard, if not harder than the futons on the floor (and the Japanese rooms were cheaper). The hotel check-in time is 3pm, but they allowed us to check-in early when we arrived at about 2pm– which while nice of them, they repeatedly stated how they were only doing so as a “very special” case. Check-out time is 10am, which is about an hour too early. Between 10am and 3pm, the whole hotel shuts down and feels like a 1980s beachside Japanese version of “The Shining.” The keys are old-style physical keys, that must be turned into the front desk when you go outside. Also, there was a small early spring heat wave when we went, but the hotel’s central air system was still set to heat mode and we could not adjust it – basically our rooms were hot as hell, and it really made sleeping difficult. The hotel has indoor and outdoor public baths, but we did not bother to try them (I am not really a public bath person). The pool as pictured on the website seems to show some sort of tile pattern on the bottom, but it clearly was not there as we could see the pool from our room – I believe the photos on the website are from happier times long ago. The restaurant in the hotel (which we did not eat at but did go check out) is like a giant food hall that plays bizarre videos of local underwater fish scenes (and the dinner menu was pretty pricey). The whole thing reminded me of what it must be like to stay at a hotel in North Korea. The hotel is really a symbol and metaphor, quite sadly, of Japan’s decline from the booming 80s, to the shreds of what is now left of better economic times and long-gone better times. I will note that while the rate we paid (mind you this was during low-season) of 130USD was not outrageous, it definitely should have been far cheaper in my opinion. What is egregious though is that during the summer high-season, these aging mediocre hotels in this area can go for hundreds and hundreds of dollars a night. While the hotel was fine for a one-night stay, I would not pay more than 100USD a night in high-season let alone during low-season for this decaying monument to...

The Izukyu hotel is an aging hotel located on in front of a beautiful beach in Shimoda. Much like a lot of tourist sites in Japan that are not located in major cities, this hotel and town were designed for the Japanese domestic tourism market, and thus foreigner travelers should be warned that this hotel is full of quirks from Japan’s 1980’s bubble heyday.. While the rooms were clean, the common areas of the hotel are sad and dark, and do not look like they have been updated since the hotel was built (and in some cases falling apart). The hotel has Western style and Japanese style rooms, and we opted for the Japanese style rooms since I knew the Western style beds would be just as hard, if not harder than the futons on the floor (and the Japanese rooms were cheaper). The hotel check-in time is 3pm, but they allowed us to check-in early when we arrived at about 2pm– which while nice of them, they repeatedly stated how they were only doing so as a “very special” case. Check-out time is 10am, which is about an hour too early. Between 10am and 3pm, the whole hotel shuts down and feels like a 1980s beachside Japanese version of “The Shining.” The keys are old-style physical keys, that must be turned into the front desk when you go outside. Also, there was a small early spring heat wave when we went, but the hotel’s central air system was still set to heat mode and we could not adjust it – basically our rooms were hot as hell, and it really made sleeping difficult. The hotel has indoor and outdoor public baths, but we did not bother to try them (I am not really a public bath person). The pool as pictured on the website seems to show some sort of tile pattern on the bottom, but it clearly was not there as we could see the pool from our room – I believe the photos on the website are from happier times long ago. The restaurant in the hotel (which we did not eat at but did go check out) is like a giant food hall that plays bizarre videos of local underwater fish scenes (and the dinner menu was pretty pricey). The whole thing reminded me of what it must be like to stay at a hotel in North Korea. The hotel is really a symbol and metaphor, quite sadly, of Japan’s decline from the booming 80s, to the shreds of what is now left of better economic times and long-gone better times. I will note that while the rate we paid (mind you this was during low-season) of 130USD was not outrageous, it definitely should have been far cheaper in my opinion. What is egregious though is that during the summer high-season, these aging mediocre hotels in this area can go for hundreds and hundreds of dollars a night. While the hotel was fine for a one-night stay, I would not pay more than 100USD a night in high-season let alone during low-season for this decaying monument to...

Stayed three nights at Hotel Izukyu with my family of four. Everyone loved the hotel. Great location with beautiful views of the beach. Hotel provides shuttle every half-hour to Shimoda Station in mornings (08:30-11:00) and from station in afternoon (14:30-17:30). There is also a local bus stop on road in front of hotel, with buses providing transit to Shimoda and other locations.||||Check-in was easy and the staff showed us to our room. We stayed in a traditional Japanese room with a fantastic view overlooking the pool and the beach. Our room had a bathroom with tub/shower, toilet, and sink. There was also a separate vanity with a sink. Room also had a small fridge and hot water kettle. The staff preps the room for sleeping (i.e., adjusts furniture and lays out futons, comforters, and pillows (they also put away bedding and reset room in the morning). Robes and slippers are provided and you can wear these throughout hotel...even to meals!||||We had half-board included (breakfast/dinner) and the meals were fabulous! Breakfast is a combination of western and Japanese foods. Also have coffee, juices, and tea. Dinner is quite the experience. More food than I expected and a great variety of Japanese cuisine...sushi, hot pots, steam box, tempura, desserts, cooked fish, salad, pickled vegetables. My kids did not like sushi, so the staff graciously prepared cooked items for them.||||The beach is across the road from hotel, but it is only a 2-3 minute walk. There are three different crosswalks close to road entrance to hotel. There is also a 7-11 that is located next to hotel road entrance. ||||Misc: Wi-Fi throughout hotel (rooms, lobby, pool area). There were two staff members who spoke very good english and a couple who knew enough to assist us with questions. Most of the other staff knew some basic words which, with my extremely limited knowledge of Japanese words/phrases, was enough to navigate most questions. The onsen was great, with inside and outside areas (there are separate onsens for...